The Princess Tales
by mutatedbunnies
Summary: [Frisk x Sans] Frisk has been preparing to marry into the monster royal family since she was a child. Her only escape from her princess-ly duties is a computer game called UnderLook, a multiplayer team-based smash hit game with a cult following. Online, she made a friend. What would he think if he knew she was going to be a princess?
1. Chapter 1

Online, no one knows you're a monster.

 _FriskyLady07 has signed on_

His heart, well his soul, skipped a beat.

 _You sent a message to FriskyLady07: "Game?"_

 _FriskyLady07 is typing…_

 _FriskyLady02: "Yes"_

 _You and FriskyLady07 have formed a group_

 _Waiting on a game…_

 _FriskyLady07 requests voice chat_ Accept?

 _You have accepted voice chat_

"Hey pretty thing~" He half purred half laughed into his microphone.

"You don't even know what I look like." Was the swift response he received. Her voice, even through possibly miles and miles and miles of airwaves, was melodic and quite possibly the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

"No 'thank you'? No, 'Oh PunnyGuy69, please marry me!'?" He audibly laughed into the mic at the absurdity of his own remark. FriskyLady wasn't one to flirt, and when he heard her groan it made the joke all worth it. Her and Papyrus had that in common.

"First off, you know I hate saying your username out loud. Second, I would never marry someone who has '69' in their name, and thirdly, choose your fucking hero. The game's about to start."

Always business with her. It was almost what made him fall in love with her. Almost. It had pretty much been love at first yell.

He remembered the day like it was yesterday. He was sitting on his computer, playing UnderLook, the hit team-based, multiplayer first-person shooter video game, when he was drawn into the match that would change his life.

Now, Sans wasn't a romantic or sentimental skeleton, but looking back at that day he could clearly say it was one for the books. He thought he was just getting into another lackluster match with people who could barely use the controls of the game, much less actually win. And like he had predicted, his team lost. On this day, losing irked him. He wasn't an angry fellow either. No, mostly just a lazy pacifist who worked in the Royal Lab during the day and played UnderLook at night, but that day he was LIVID. How could they lose? They were so close! And he snapped.

"We were so close and you guys just had to drop the ball! Literally! Our objective was to get a ball back to base and you all came down with a case of butter fingers! This wouldn't have happened if someone had just played Me-" And in the middle of his tirade he was cut off. IT was the beginning of his love story.

"And who are you to lecture us, Mister BlessPalm? You picked the most useless character and you couldn't even play him right! Look at yourself before you lecture others! Your cocky ass attitude is the reason we lost! Now shut the fuck up and pick your next character. And while you're at it, pull your head out of your ass and pay attention to your teammates for once. Fuck face." Came the harsh female voice from one of the other mics that were on the channel.

He was stunned into silence. He could hear snickers from the other players in their voice chat. If it could have, his soul would have left his body and went straight to heaven. He got his ass handed to him. And by the loveliest, sweetest voice he had heard in all of New Home. Of course, she probably wasn't in New Home because human video games weren't allowed in the kingdom, but it still affected him in a deep way. He was in love.

"Hey, fuckface, PunnyGuy, hellooooo? Don't tell me you're crying because I gave you a verbal ass beating. Get out here!" The voice came again just in time for him to see the name on his screen: FriskyLady07. The name of his one true love. The angel he was destined to be with.

"All right, you little shit. I'm not holding back this time." He growled through his teeth and ran his character out into the fray.

That had been a year ago. A year later and he still didn't know her real name. Then again, she didn't know his either. They considered themselves close friends. But they didn't know anything important about each other. It's how it had to be, for him at least. Being a student to the Royal Scientist and having illegal human contraband would definitely be frowned upon. And if FriskyLady07 knew he was a monster? What would she think then? It was safer for them not to know too many identifying characteristics about each other. She also wasn't forthcoming in any details about herself, so he imagined she had things she wanted to keep secret as well.

"Do you remember when we met?" FriskyLady's voice drifted over the airwaves.

Sans jolted in his seat, feeling his face heat up. Had he been reminiscing out loud? That would have been embarrassing. Silence lapsed on their chat long enough that he knew she hadn't heard him and was probably impatiently waiting for him to respond.

"How could I forget? First time I've ever been called a fuck face before."

Another moment of silence lapsed.

"Frisky?" He asked, a bit concerned.

"I… just wanted to say that I'm really glad we met." She replied, her voice sounding subdued, as if her mind was somewhere else.

 _Quick Sans, break the tension._

"If I knew I was going to meat you, I would have brought ketchup." _Yep, that was not smooth._ He inwardly groaned. He heard a snort and a trill of beautiful laughter roll into his headpiece.

"I wouldn't have expected anything but a joke from you, PunnyGuy."

He sighed softly, knowing his little joke went over well enough to get a laugh out of her.

"I just wanted to tell you that. I'm going to be gone for about a week. I'm moving."

"Oh? Where are you moving to?" He asked, his interests piqued. It was the end of summer, so it was possible she was moving off to university. He at least knew she was old enough to be starting her postsecondary education.

"That's classified." Of course it was. "But can you promise me something?"

"Anything for a beautiful lady," He smiled softly into his mic.

"Don't fall for any other girls on here while I'm gone."

"Wha-?!" He sputtered before he heard a ripple of giggles before they cut off unceremoniously.

 _FriskyLady07 has signed off_

Sans sighed, pulling his headset off and placing it gently next to the keyboard. That girl was going to be the death of him. He wasn't sure if he could go a whole week without playing UnderLook with her. When had he become like this? He used to only really care to interact with his brother on a continuous basis, but FriskyLady07 was different. He knew someday she'd meet a nice human, get married, and forget all about him, but that wasn't coming any time soon, so he continued stealing precious moments like these with her. Their "break" came at an opportune time as well.

In a few days, a female human would be arriving in the capital to be married off to the human prince, Chara, to cement an alliance between the monsters and the humans. Monsters and humans had never really gotten along. They had been fighting for centuries until King Asgore moved the entire kingdom to an island off the coast of one of the major human nations. Now they were trying to make an unbreakable alliance with that human nation so that they be allowed back onto continental land. It was almost a miracle that Chara had washed up on their shores so many years ago; without him, this wouldn't have been possible. The King and Queen had taken him in under their wings to raise him alongside their other son, Asriel. Asriel was in line for the throne, and needed to have children, so a marriage to a human was out of the question for him. (No one was even sure if it was possible for humans and monsters to have children together, so sacrificing the crown prince to an alliance would have been a stupid decision.) Even though the marriage wouldn't be between a monster and a human, it was the next best thing.

Sans stretched in his seat, hearing his spine crack all the way up. Papyrus hated that sound. He tried to only do it while he was in his room, but if Pap irked him that day… He sighed and turned to his bed. He thought it was a bed fit for a Student to the Royal Scientist. The bed only contained a fitted sheet and comforter, one pillow, and was littered with random bits of "trash", mostly wrappers from food he ate in bed. Papyrus hated his room, but that was fine, he didn't live in it. He pushed away some of the wrappers before crawling under his comforter, curling into a tight ball and thinking about his FriskyLady07 and what she might look like. That was his favorite pastime in bed. It helped him fall asleep and if he was lucky he would dream about her.

Tonight, he couldn't focus on FriskyLady07's looks. Instead, he thought about the incoming, soon-to-be princess. It would be the first human female he would see. Since he still was a student in the Royal Lab he wouldn't interact with her much, if at all, but he was sure he would see her in the halls, on the grounds, and wherever he was. He saw Chara quite often that way. Would the princess look like a Hollywood Star? Or would she be small, quiet? Maybe she would like science and he would see her around the lab. If Gaster allowed that. He felt the fuzziness of sleep on the edge of his consciousness. He entertained the fantasy of FriskyLady07 being the new princess as he drifted off to sleep, knowing there was no way in all of monster kind that that would happen.

* * *

"Are you almost finished packing?" The elderly voice of her servant sounded from the doorway.

Frisk looked up, spotting Henrietta, her servant, standing in the doorway, a tray of tea and cookies in her hands. The servants had been getting clingy the closer it got to her departure. This was the third time Henrietta had checked on her in the past hour.

"Yeah, just gotta finish packing my PC and then I'm ready." She chirped as she gingerly wrapper her PC tower in several layers of bubble wrap.

"It's, 'Yes, I just have to finish packing my computer and then I'll be finished.'" Henrietta corrected her, for the thousandth time. Frisk had to hold in a groan. "You really do need to be more aware of how you speak. It's fine to talk that way with friends, but you should be more careful when you speak to those higher than you and those who serve you." She set the tea tray down on the small breakfast table across the room.

"I know…I mean, yes ma'am, thank you ma'am." Frisk quickly corrected before setting her work down and going over to the table. She knew better than to ignore tea time in favor of continuing to pack. She had learned that lesson the hard way the first day she had come to live at the Résolu manor.

Henrietta gave her an approving smile before stepping back and letting Frisk serve herself. That was her one caveat of having a servant: she could serve herself. She poured herself a cup and added a few sugar cubes and milk before stirring gently, making sure the spoon didn't clatter against the sides. That wouldn't be ladylike.

Frisk had begun training to be a royal bride since she was ten. She was now eighteen. When her parents had passed, a distant aunt and uncle took her in. She was the only child in the household. At the time, they didn't have the money for servants and livery, but her uncle had gotten a job at the embassy and the money started coming in. Once he got the job, it was pressed onto him to find a girl suitable enough to become an ambassador to the monsters…in the form of a marriage. And who was more suitable than his own niece? Thus, her training began.

Her aunt loved the training. It was an excuse to spoil Frisk with beautiful clothes and other beautiful things. Frisk was taught table manners, curtsying, fan language, piano, balance, poise, and anything that would groom her into the perfect bride to be. A perfect princess.

"Is something the matter?" Henrietta asked, startling Frisk out of her thoughts. She realized she had been frowning into her tea.

"Oh, sorry. Nothing is the matter. I was just thinking about my aunt…" Frisk could visibly see Henrietta's posture ease.

"She would be so proud of you." Henrietta smiled softly. Frisk's aunt was a touchy subject for everyone in the manor.

Frisk fiddled with the teardrop-shaped emerald at her throat. "I know… This is what she always wanted."

Henrietta took this as her cue to leave. "Ring the bell when you're ready for your tea to be taken." She gave Frisk a small pat on the head before slipping out the door.

Frisk sighed, for the billionth time that day. It was here. The day she was going to leave for the monster kingdom. It was going to take a few days to get there, but she could already feel the nervous knot in her stomach twisting. She knew she was going to marry the _human_ prince, but she would be the only human besides him in the entire kingdom. She had never even seen a monster before. In her training, she was taught that there were several different types of monsters, that they came in many different forms. Yet, no one could tell her what they really looked like. She had a blurry, out of focus picture of the king, but that was it. And from the picture, he was huge.

She took a deep breath, trying to ease the oxygen into every muscle in her body to relax the tension rising in her. When she had calmed down, she took a sip of tea and stared out the window. What would PunnyGuy69 think of her if he knew she was going off to live in some mysterious kingdom beyond the sea? That she was marrying into the monster royal family? That she was going to be a princess? She let out a sharp laugh. He would make some kind of joke about it. At least she was allowed to take her computer with her. It was like packing up and taking PunnyGuy himself. Which was the best thing next to actually having the real one with her.

UnderLook had become her escape from reality. A place where she wasn't a princess-in-training. Where she could be as crude as she wanted. And PunnyGuy was there. She hadn't expected to make such a good friend on the game, but there they were. If she hadn't been betrothed since childhood she might have developed feelings for him. He was a shameless flirt. It was flattering, since he had nothing to gain from her. Once she was safely in the monster kingdom, she would tell him about herself. No one would be auditing her online exchanges there, and he wouldn't be a threat anymore. She would be far away from any human land, so there would be no way she could escape to run away with him, or whatever her watchers were scared of happening. He couldn't come for her either. If he was smart.

Another knock came from her door.

"Yes?" She asked, surprised that anyone besides Henrietta would come to see her at such a time.

"It's me, my darling." The soft, yet strong and warm, voice came from the other side of the door. She smiled softly.

"Come in, uncle." She stood to greet him.

The old man came into the room, clutching his oak cane and dressed in a fine suit. He shuffled along the plush carpet slowly, his breaths a bit labored. Frisk's aunt and uncle hadn't exactly been… spring chickens when they adopted her. Her uncle's health had been deteriorating since her aunt's death, and with her leaving, she wasn't sure he would live much longer.

"Ah, fresh tea…" He slowly lowered himself into one of her chairs. She quickly turned a teacup over and poured some tea into it, fixing it just the way he liked it: just tea. No sugar, no milk, just plain tea. "Thank you, dear." He sighed happily as he took a sip.

"I can't believe that in a few hours you're going to be leaving for New Home…" He smiled at her sadly. He always called the monster kingdom by its true name: New Home. He was the only one who did. She supposed that was an accurate name for it, though. It was going to become her new home in a few days' time.

"I know… I just wish Auntie was here to see it." Frisk looked down at her cold cup of tea, frowning into it.

"'Now, now, Frisk! If you keep making that face you'll wrinkle prematurely!'" Her uncle imitated his late wife, making sure to change his voice's pitch to match.

She laughed.

"She would say that…" She laughed again, trying to blink the tears from her face.

"She was so proud of you… Not just with this princess training thing, but for your whole life. Even when she would watch you play that infernal game, she would be so proud when you won. I remember her getting on the phone and telling her cousin about it…" Her uncle laughed.

"We always wanted you to be taken care of when we were gone…" He continued, smiling sadly as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a little bundle. "She also wanted to give you these." He set the small package down on the table.

"These are pictures?" She questioned as she rifled through the small pile of photos.

"Our family photos." He explained. "You are our daughter, Frisk. She wanted you to show these to your kids one day. Your husband too. She wanted to make sure you remembered who you are and where you came from. I want that for you as well." He smiled and pulled yet another gift from his coat pocket.

"And this… This is from me."

Inside the box was a beautiful golden bracelet with "Frisk Résolu" engraved on the underside. Frisk audibly gasped.

"Uncle! It's beautiful! Thank you!" She stood from her chair and moved around the table, enveloping her uncle in a warm, gentle hug.

"Let me put it on you…" He said, taking her wrist and clasping it shut. He gently kissed her hand before letting go, dismissing her to go and sit back down.

"It's not just a beautiful trinket, my dear. I had them put a few spells in it…"

"Human magic?!" Frisk started. It was almost unheard of to find anyone with a good reputation who practiced magic.

Her uncle laughed. "Don't be so surprised! I have my connections. Remember, we used to be destitute." He winked. "I had them put a spell on it so that it would never tarnish, so you can wear it all the time. Which is excellent, since the second spell is a protection spell. It will keep you safe if anything bad happens."

She couldn't help but feel warm affection spread through her. Even if this was highly illegal- it still meant he wanted to care for her the best that he could.

"Thank you, uncle. I'm sure I won't need it."

* * *

 _Author's Note: UnderLook is based on Overwatch. Character names have been changed and/or inverted. Have fun trying to figure them out! Updates should be weekly, give or take a few days. Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

Today was the day. The princess was arriving.

The entire castle was abuzz with activity. Workers moved to and fro, hanging decorations and placing vases of flowers all over the castle. They knew that the princess's favorite flower was a sunflower, so they covered the entire grounds in them for her arrival. The king had been cultivating them for years now just to get a large enough population to decorate the place for her arrival. There were other flowers from the king's garden as well, including some of the beautiful echo flowers that only grew in the wetlands they called Waterfall.

Even Sans was busy preparing in the lab. They were expected to attend the arrival- the entire staff was- but there was little else they could do to help the castle prepare.

"I-I'm so nervous…" Alphys moaned, twisting her pink handkerchief in her hands for the millionth time.

"Why? We'll never see her." Sans shrugged, taking a sip of coffee from his work-issued coffee mug.

"Sans! Th-this is so important! Sh-she's the first human since P-Prince Chara-a." Her stutter was even worse today than it was usually. She was a nervous creature by nature, but today her anxiety was through the roof.

"Wh-what if sh-she d-doesn't l-like us?" Alphys looked at him. Her expression started making Sans nervous about the arrival as well.

"Her loss. We're the coolest cats in the whole kingdom! We're puurrfect the way we are." Sans gave her a grin before finishing off his coffee. It was too bad Dr. Gaster banned ketchup from the lab. Sure, Sans had gotten it all over several important documents and may have left red phalange-prints on one of the machines, but how was he supposed to survive without the stuff?

Alphys gave a soft laugh that almost sounded like a cough. "I know you're right, Sans. I just can't help but worry."

"Students!" Dr. Gaster's booming voice echoed off the linoleum floor as he entered the room. All of the student researchers stood, Sans standing close to Alphys.

"Today we welcome our new princess into our kingdom. Tomorrow, she will be visiting the lab and introducing herself to each and every one of you. Unfortunately, I will be at the Core tomorrow and will not be here to welcome her personally. I want to ask for two volunteers to show her around and lab. Who would like to volunteer?"

The lab went silent. Then Sans grinned and raised his hand.

"Me and Alphys will show her around! Won't we, Alphie?" He put his free arm around Alphys's shoulder. He could practically feel her soul leaving her body.

"Y-yes sir!" She chirped obediently.

"Thank you, Sans and Alphys." Gaster nodded at the pair before looking back to the general gathering of students. "I expect you all to be on your best behavior. Remember to meet in the courtyard exactly at noon. You are dismissed." He turned and walked back out of the laboratory.

"Wh-why would y-you do that?!" Alphys nearly shrieked.

"You're scared of her not liking you, why don't we let her decide if she likes you or not?" Sans grinned and shrugged.

"I h-hate you s-so much s-sometimes, S-Sans!"

"Love you too, Alphie."

* * *

It was noon. Time for the princess to arrive.

Sans stood in the courtyard, huddled in a small line behind Gaster. He had dressed in his best dress shirt and tie, with his lab coat thrown over. They all wore similar attire, distinguishing them from the other castle workers that were littered about.

He looked across the way and could see his brother, standing tall and proud in his kitchen staff's black uniform. He stood out like a sore thumb from the other monsters. He was taller than the rest, except for Asgore and Asriel. He would probably scare the poor girl if she caught sight of him.

The royal family stood closest to the doors, each member dressed in their official uniforms. Asgore was dressed in his armor, Toriel in her dress with the Delta Rune across her chest, and Chara and Asriel in matching uniforms with the Delta Rune displayed on their military uniforms.

Sans studied Chara. The young man seemed oddly unfazed by the fact that his wife-to-be was just moments from arriving. His red eyes stared towards the gate of the courtyard, awaiting the arrival of the carriage. He had almost a bored expression on his face. Next to him, Asriel looked like a royal mess. He kept bouncing on his feet and gently shifting from side to side. You would think he was the one getting married. The queen gently nudged the crown prince and settled down a bit, getting his nervous twitches to drumming his fingers against his thigh.

At that exact moment, the trumpets heralding the carriage's arrival sounded.

The beautiful, ornate carriage, drawn by two of the only horses in New Home, pulled into the large courtyard. A quiet fell over the crowd, as if they were holding a collective breath. The carriage came to a stop and one of the footmen quickly placed the small set of steps in front of the door. Before taking his place next to the door.

"Presenting Miss Frisk Résolu, of the country of Courtland, future princess of New Home!" The footman shouted before opening the door.

Sans could almost feel the crowd leaning forward, trying to get the first glimpse of the princess.

Slowly, the princess emerged from the back of the carriage. A white gloved hand gently grasped that of the footman, easing her way down the steps. She was small. A lot smaller than Sans had anticipated. He was certain now. Papyrus would terrify her.

She was dressed in a modest purple dress with a shrug over her shoulders, and small hat placed delicately on top of her head. Chestnut curls fell to her mid back, taking most of Sans's attention as she walked towards the royal family. She gazed straight ahead, not chancing a look to the sides of her. He supposed that way, she wouldn't be overwhelmed with all of the monsters surrounding her. But then, an anomaly happened.

A small froggit child, probably one of the servant's children, rushed into the human girl's path, halting her.

"A flower. For you. My p-princess…" The child mumbled as she lost the nerve she had worked so hard to get up.

The princess stopped, looking down at the young monster. It felt like hours, but it must have just been minutes, before the princess smiled and squatted down in front of the young girl.

"Thank you." She took the flower and tucked it behind her ear. "What's your name?"

"E-Emma…" The child was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second.

"It's nice to meet you, Emma. Thank you for such a warm welcome." The princess smiled again, earning a shy smile from the child before Emma rushed away to hide behind her mother.

The princess stood and began walking once more. The breath everyone had been holding in was released, both the crowd and the princess seeming more at ease.

When she reached the royal family, Sans couldn't hear their conversation, but he assumed it was very warm because after a moment Toriel gathered the tiny human into a bear hug and the crowd cheered happily. It seemed that maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as they all thought.

* * *

Chara was less than impressed.

They sat at the dinner table that night, the girl placed strategically next to him for their meal. He didn't like this. She was interrupting the status quo. He normally sat between his mom and Asriel, but tonight she had taken the spot between him and his mother. She had already driven a wedge between him and his family.

"So, Frisk, do you have any ideas for the wedding?" His mother asked her. Always about the wedding. It was still three months away because her mother wanted the girl to "settle" before the big day.

The girl seemed a bit startled at the question. Great. She was another human girl who had her agency ripped from her at a young age.

"N-No… Not yet, anyway. I brought a dress, but that's it." She gave a saccharine smile. Totally fake.

"That's wonderful!" His mother clasped her hands together. "I've always loved human wedding dresses! You'll have to let me see you in it."

"Do you have any colors you'd like for the wedding?" Asriel asked. Of course, his brother would be excited about this as well. Everyone was excited for the wedding. Because it meant they could go to the human mainland. Even though the human world was a shit show.

"Oh, not yet. I thought that purple and gold would be nice. The colors of our two nations." She gave a small laugh. Fake again.

"What a wonderful idea! And we can have sunflowers for the ceremony as well. They would go perfectly with the color scheme." The king chimed in. Ah, the sunflowers. Grown for years just for this little usurper.

"Thank you for those. I noticed you've decorated the castle with them. They're lovely." The girl flattered his father. Chara could tell just by looking at him that he felt flattered the human girl had even noticed his hard work. Disgusting.

"Asgore heard they were your favorite and worked so hard to grow them. I think they brighten up the castle. We should keep some around all the time." His mother laughed softly before standing.

"I think it's time we all go to bed. Today has been very exciting and I know I'm tired." Toriel said and the others at the table stood. "I'll show you to your room, Frisk."

The girl smiled and curtsied to the members of the monster royal family. A perfect, mechanical gesture.

"Good night everyone. Thank you for this wonderful dinner and wonderful company." She stood straight again and followed the queen out of the room.

* * *

The next morning, Frisk woke to a knock on the door.

"Come in?" She called groggily, sitting up in her bed. The bed itself was huge; it was definitely built for a large monster. Everything else in the room was human-sized.

"G-good morning princess!" A small creature flitted into the room. "I-I'm Imelda the whimsun. I'm going to be your personal assistant starting today."

"Good morning, Imelda. You don't need to call me princess. 'Frisk' is just fine." Frisk smiled softly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Thank you, Miss Frisk… I was told to wake you up at dawn and take you to the training arena before breakfast." Imelda still hovered just inside the door, as if she was nervous to come in. Frisk supposed that a human was pretty intimidating.

"Yes, thank you." She slowly slipped out of bed, her feet hitting the lush carpet. She felt spoiled. The monster royal family had spared no expense in trying to make her feel comfortable.

She went to her wardrobe, pulling out a T-shirt and leggings. It was time for her morning run. She had to stay in shape. That's what her uncle told her. And after spending a few days of traveling she was ready to be active again. She pulled her hair back and tied it in a high ponytail. Her long hair was nothing but a nuisance. It was always in the way and getting tangled, but her aunt had insisted on keeping it long. It was more feminine, after all.

Pulling on her running shoes, she looked up and smiled at Imelda.

"All right, I'm ready."

"This way, Miss Frisk." The little creature opened the door and the two of them headed out to the arena.

The arena was quite impressive, like a high-end training facility for a professional football team. There was an indoor track as well as a weight room and various cardio equipment. Imelda explained that it was for the royal guards as well as for the use of the other castle staff who wanted to use it. There were a few monsters already using the weights, notably two very buff monsters wearing armored helmets as they worked out.

Imelda led her to the track where two others were already running. One was a very fit monster, with blue skin and shiny red hair. She was about the size of a tall human woman, though she looked like she could crush a human skull between her thighs. Next to her was… something that should have been terrifying if he hadn't been wearing a crop top that had "Jogboy" printed on the front. He was a skeleton, standing at about seven feet tall, jogging happily next to the blue woman.

"That's Undyne and Papyrus. Undyne is the captain of the royal guard. Papyrus is a busboy in the kitchens, but he wants to join the guard. Undyne trains him every morning before his shift starts." Imelda explained, smiling a bit. Frisk smiled as well.

"You know a lot about everyone. Are all the staff close here?" Frisk asked, beginning her stretches.

"Oh yes. Everyone in the castle is close. The king, queen, and Prince Asriel treat everyone very nice." Imelda hovered quietly near the human. She wasn't a very strong monster, but she still wanted to keep close to her charge.

"What about Prince Chara? What is he like?" Frisk asked.

"O-oh… Prince Chara is… a loner." The whimsun looked even more nervous. Frisk decided not to press the issue. "Oh! Undyne and Papyrus are coming!"

Frisk looked up just in time to see the two heading over. She quickly stood into a more dignified position. It wouldn't do to meet the captain of the royal guard while she was sprawled out on the ground. When the two reach them they both bent over in deep bows. After a few seconds, she realized she was supposed to release them.

"Y-you may rise…" Frisk said awkwardly.

"GOOD MORNING, PRINCESS! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND THIS IS MY FRIEND UNDYNE, CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD! OH, GOOD MORNING TO YOU TOO, IMELDA!" The giant skeleton practically yelled.

"Nice to meet you, princess. What are you doing out here so early?" Undyne asked. Now that Frisk was getting a closer view of the woman, she seemed to resemble a fish. Perhaps more specifically, a blue piranha.

"It's nice to meet you two too." She mentally kicked herself for the silly phrasing. That was not very princess-like, but the two put her at ease. Too bad Henrietta wasn't here to kick her in the shins. "I'm just here to get my morning exercise in."

"A STRONG BODY MEANS A STRONG MIND." The skeleton agreed, nodding his head. "MY BROTHER COULD LEARN A LOT FROM YOU."

"Are you going running?" Undyne asked and the girl nodded. "You should join us! We could have a race."

"I'm actually very fast for a human." Frisk said, and mentally kicked herself again. She was also very competitive for a human.

"OH? THEN YOU SHOULD RUN AGAINST ME! I AM VERY FAST."

"I think it would be unfair for her to race you, Papyrus." Undyne frowned.

"WHY?"

"You're at least two feet taller than her. Her torso isn't even as long as your thigh bone." Undyne laughed.

"OH! MY BROTHER IS ABOUT YOUR SIZE, HUMAN PRINCESS! YOU COULD RUN AGAINST HIM. HE'S AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE, SLEEPING. I WILL GO GET HIM." And with that the giant man lumbered off while the captain laughed behind his back.

"It'll be a cold day in hell if he gets Sans to actually run." Undyne turned back to the human girl. "Do you want to run a few laps with me while we wait for him to come back?"

Undyne had incredible stamina. They were on their third lap and she wasn't even breathing hard. They were taking a leisurely pace, just trying to get Frisk warmed up for her "race" if Papyrus ever came back.

"Not bad, human. But you could use a bit more muscle on you. It would help with your stamina." Undyne commented as the turned the last round.

"My…aunt…o-only let me do…cardio…" Frisk panted as they came to a stop. Imelda came to her with a small paper cup of water and she took it gratefully.

"Damn, hell is freezing over."

Frisk looked up just in time to see Papyrus coming back, dressed in a turtleneck that barely covered his rib cage and some black shorts that were much too small for him. Neck to him was a small skeleton wearing the clothes Papyrus had been wearing earlier.

"HUMAN PRINCESS, THIS IS MY BROTHER, SANS. HE WORKS IN THE ROYAL LABORATORY. WE SWITCHED CLOTHES SO HE WOULD NOT SWEAT IN HIS UNIFORM." Papyrus explained.

"Heh. Nice to meet you." The skeleton held out his hand. Frisk actually looked down to look him in the eyes. He was only a few inches shorter than her, but it was surprising. She was expecting someone taller. She stretched out her hand to shake his.

"Nice to meet y-"

A fart sound rippled through the arena. It seemed like the entire world paused.

"Heh. Whoopee cushion in the hand trick." Sans smiled.

"SANS! YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO THE HUMAN PRINCESS!" Papyrus's voice grew louder, if that was even possible. Even Undyne stood with her eye wide, waiting for the girl's reaction.

A giggle rippled through Frisk, ending in a snort.

"I-I was not expecting that." She laughed, covering her mouth.

There was a palpable relief that was felt in the room.

"Heh. See, Pap? It's fine." Sans laughed softly, though there was relief in his voice.

"Just for that, I'm going to run you into the ground, shorty." Frisk challenged, still laughing a bit.

"I didn't come to win. I just wanted to wear this Jog Boy shirt." Sans grinned.

"Um… excuse me…" Imelda chime in. "Miss Frisk, it's time for us to head back. Breakfast is going to start in an hour."

"SANS, YOU WASTED THE HUMAN PRINCESS'S TIME AND NOW THERE WON'T BE A RACE." Papyrus scorned.

"Just 'Frisk' is fine. I'm not technically a princess yet…" She smiled. "It was nice meeting all of you. I might see you again today. I'm introducing myself to all the divisions in the castle." She and Imelda waved softly before leaving the small group behind them.

"I think they like you." Imelda seemed more at ease.

"I like them too. They didn't treat me like an alien." Frisk smiled. Her legs wobbled softly from the work Undyne had put her through.

"After your shower, will you need me to help you with your makeup? I've been watching a lot of makeup tutorials on the human internet." Imelda seemed almost excited. Had she been training for this for a long time?

"Oh… my maid made sure I could do my own makeup before leaving…"

Imelda's wings drooped slightly.

"But, I do need help with my hair. I'm not very good at it yet." Frisk said quickly. It seemed to perk the little creature up.

"I've been watching videos of that too!" Imelda said happily. "I can't wait to start!"

* * *

 _Author's Note: Thank you all for reading! I was hoping this chapter would be longer, but alas, my finals are upon me. Enjoy!_


	3. Chapter 3

Breakfast was as awkward as dinner had been the night before.

Everyone was nice to her…except for Chara.

He continued to give her death glares from across the table. Everyone else seemed to be oblivious to his stares. It didn't help that his eyes were a deep red color. It was almost like the devil himself were staring straight into her soul.

"I heard you met a few of our workers this morning." Queen Toriel said as she piled Frisk's plate with two more pancakes. It seemed like the monster queen was keen on fattening her up.

"I did. I met Undyne, Papyrus and his brother, Sans." Frisk smiled at the queen. Toriel had informed her when she had sat down on the table that she had cooked the breakfast for them this morning. The queen was usually too busy with her duties to cook, but she still enjoyed it, she explained.

"Oh, you better watch out for Sans." Toriel warned her. "He's quite the punny guy."

Frisk visibly startled at the name, but calmed herself down quickly enough. There was no connection between her PunnyGuy and Sans. It had just been a coincidence.

"Oh yeah, Sans makes a bunch of jokes and plays pranks on everyone. One time he used cling wrap to cover Chara's door and Chara walked right into it and fell." Asriel laughed at the memory. She glanced at Chara. At least he was glaring at Asriel now.

"In that case, I need to get him back for the prank he pulled on me this morning." She said thoughtfully.

"Oh? He got you already?" Asgore seemed surprised.

"Yeah, he had a whoopee cushion in his hand when I shook it." _Yes._ She corrected herself mentally.

All three of the monsters laughed.

"That sounds like him." Toriel grinned. "He loves to drink ketchup. Just something to keep in mind." She winked.

"So today you're meeting all of the divisions of the castle, right? I thought I'd join you." Asriel chirped happily.

"That would be wo-" She started but Toriel cut her off.

"I thought it might be better if Chara joins her. You have your lessons, dear, and Imelda needs time to help unpack Frisk's luggage." The queen was smiling even though her human son looked like he could vomit.

"That's a great idea." Asriel quickly agreed. "We'll hang out sometime soon, Frisk." He promised with a smile.

"I would like to show you the garden sometime as well." Asgore sipped his tea.

"I can't wait." She smiled.

* * *

The first stop on their itinerary was the kitchens. It was smaller than she had thought it would be, but she supposed with how homey the castle seemed it fit perfectly.

"This is Muffet, head of the kitchen." Chara sighed the introduction. He didn't offer any more information about the purple spider girl that was standing in front of them.

"It's nice to meet you, Muffet." Frisk curtsied politely. She was so thankful for Imelda's hair skills. She had tied the human girl's hair up into a beautiful braided crown so that it wouldn't be in her way. Now hair wouldn't fall into face every time she curtsied today.

Muffet returned the gesture, though Frisk had to admit it was much more elegant than her own since the monster was holding, and balancing, a teapot, teacup and saucer, and tray of cookies.

"It's nice to meet you, princess." Muffet smiled as she stood up straight. Her smile was mischievous even though Frisk couldn't detect any malice behind it. It was a nice smile.

"HUMAN FRISK!"

The trio quickly turned around just as the large skeleton entered the kitchen. He was holding an empty tray, presumably from someone's breakfast.

"Hello there, Papyrus." She greeted him with a soft wave.

"It's princess." Chara growled. Frisk jumped slightly. She had almost forgotten he was there.

"It's fine, Prince Chara. I asked him to call me Frisk. I'm not a princess yet and I have no title back home." She said quickly. She didn't want the skeleton to get in trouble because she had dismissed her future title.

"Then it should be 'miss.' Not 'human.'" Chara was still glaring at Papyrus.

"I'M VERY SORRY, PRINCE CHARA AND MISS FRISK." Papyrus bowed in apology, the plates on his tray sliding off and clattering to the floor. He quickly moved to pick them up.

Chara snorted softly.

"I think we're done here." He scoffed turning to walk out the door.

"Here…" Frisk kneeled down to help Papyrus pick up the cutlery. He seemed utterly flustered, trying his best to clean up as quickly as possible. His poor hands were shaking. She gently grabbed onto one of them.

He looked up and opened his mouth to say something but she quickly shook her head.

"I'm sorry." She mouthed and stood with him, leaving the tray in his hands.

"Thank you for meeting with me today, Muffet." She curtsied again. "And it was nice seeing you again, Papyrus."

She turned to the doorway where Chara was glaring at her. Again.

As soon as they got into the hallway he turned on her.

"You can't let them call you 'human' and you can't help them when they mess up. You can't be their friend. You're above them in station, and you're human." He growled at her. That was more than he had spoken to her yet. But she couldn't bask in that. His tone was pissing her off.

"Why not? They've been nothing but nice to me. I don't see why I can't be nice back." She huffed, trying not to raise her voice. It wasn't ladylike.

"You're new. A novelty. Eventually they'll remember you don't belong here and forget you." He said flatly. "They're interested in you and that's it." He turned and began walking away. "We need to keep going. I want to get this over with."

Frisk frowned at his back. She glanced around and then gave the prince's back a very lewd and offensive human gesture before strutting off behind him.

What neither of the humans realized was that there were eight little eyes watching them from the corner of the ceiling.

* * *

At midday the humans finally arrived at the very important Royal Research Laboratory.

Sans watched the human girl gaze around her in wonder, her mouth slightly open as she looked around. She was acting as if she had never been in a science lab before. Or were human labs different in some way? He watched her for a few seconds more. She was kind of cute, in a childlike way.

Next to him Alphys was a nervous wreck, wringing her handkerchief between her hands. He had assured her several times already that the girl was perfectly safe, that she seemed nice and that she had even called him 'shorty.' That didn't seem to quell any of Alphie's fears though. He hypothesized that she was nervous the princess would turn out like Prince Chara had. They all were.

"Nice to see you again, princess." He called, trying to get the two human's attention. She turned around to look at him, a smile on her face. He paused and blinked. What had just happened in his soul? He pushed the thought away as the two humans came up to them.

"It's nice to see you too, Sans." She offered. He could see her smile wasn't as bright as it had been a few seconds ago and her eyes looked… a little guilty? He wasn't sure what that could be about. Maybe she regretted calling him short? He wasn't sure what to make of her just yet.

"Welcome to our little place of science. This is Alphys." He gestured to the poor creature next to him who seemed to start when she heard her name.

"N-nice t-to m-meet y-you p-princess…." Alphys avoided eye contact with either of the humans, instead watching the floor like it was one of those anime things she liked so much.

"It's nice to meet you too, Alphys." Frisk offered, her eyes pulled to Alphys's nervous hands.

"We'll get the tour started soon. But you both need to be properly dressed before we continue. Safety first." He said.

Chara let a deep breath out through his nose.

"I've seen this a million times. I'll just go wait by the door." He shrugged before walking back to the entrance. Frisk seemed almost as relieved as Alphys did.

Sans shrugged. "His loss. Today's tour will be extra special." He gave the human a wink and in return he received a squint, as if she wasn't sure what to make out of him.

"Anyway, put these on." He pulled a pair of goggles and a white lab coat off his nearby desk. The poor thing was still wearing uncomfortable-looking clothes. She had on a skirt and a sweater, paired with small heels that gave her even more of an advantage over him. He preferred when they were closer in height.

Frisk took them, frowning as she inspected them.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"They're… ordinary." Her lips pursed. He had to keep himself from staring at them. She was quite expressive, and it made him want to study her. For scientific reasons, of course.

He laughed. "What were you expecting?"

"Some kind of joke… or a prank…" Her squint was returning as she frowned in defeat before slipping the goggles and coat on.

"Safety is no joke." He winked at her. He looked at Alphys and saw that she was studying him. He didn't quite like the look she was giving him. They would have to talk about that later.

"T-this w-way…" Alphys mumbled, taking off. Her pace was a nervous quick and the two others had to power walk to keep up with her. Frisk was faster than him, thanks to those damned heels.

"Have you seen Papyrus?" Frisk asked as they walked. The question took him off guard.

"I haven't spoken to him since this morning…why?" He asked.

"I just…" She bit her lip. Why was he so focused on her mouth? He decided it was because she was basically a flesh-covered skeleton and it fascinated him to see what he might be like if he was covered in muscle and skin.

"I'm worried about him."

"Did something happ-"

"T-this is t-the r-robotics r-room…" They came to a sudden stop. Alphys had led them to her department; the one she was most familiar with. The room was filled with tables where various monsters were working on their projects.

"Oh, wow." Frisk stopped just a few inches behind Alphys, peering into the room. "What are they working on?"

"Th-they're working o-on r-robotics to h-help e-every d-day t-tasks…" Alphys gently dabbed the sweat on her forehead with her handkerchief. Frisk still seemed quite interested in the creations going on.

"We can go in…Right, Alphie?" Sans grinned at his friend.

"Y-Yes! S-Sorry, I-I g-got l-lost in m-my th-thoughts…" Her hands went back to choking her handkerchief. He caught Frisk watching Alphys's hands again. She opened her mouth to say something but Alphys had already walked into the room.

"After you, princess." He gestured for Frisk to go before him.

"Th-this is m-my project…I c-call i-it M-M-Mettaton." Alphys gestured to a rectangular robot who was outfitted with two arms and a single wheel for legs.

"What is…Mettaton supposed to be?" The human asked politely, pushing her goggles back up the bridge of her nose. He had to admit, the nerd look suited her.

"H-he is s-supposed to b-be a-an en-entertainer r-robot." Alphys dabbed at her forehead again.

"Um…Alphys…I have a question…" Frisk was looking away, like she was the one who was nervous now.

"Y-yes?" Alphys seemed just as surprised as he was.

"Is… Is that a Mew Mew Kissy Cutie handkerchief?"

There was a pause.

"I-it is! H-how did you know?" Alphys cried, unfolding the handkerchief so the princess could get a better look at it. Frisk's eyes seemed to brighten as she looked at it.

"Mew Mew Kissy Cutie is an anime classic! Everyone who's any kind of fan of anime has seen it!" The girl bent to get a closer look at the handkerchief. "But merchandise is so rare… How did you find this?"

"O-oh, w-well I o-ordered it from a c-catalogue a c-couple of years ago…" Alphys looked flattered and flustered and almost at a loss of what to say. Sans couldn't help but grin. He had told Alphys not to worry about the princess-to-be.

"You're so lucky to have found it when you did. They discontinued everything about five years ago and now everything is SO expensive. It's even hard to find the anime anywhere." Frisk sighed sadly.

"W-well, I-I have b-both s-seasons on t-tape…" The little yellow scientist continued to bother with her handkerchief. "Y-you c-could b-borrow th-them…"

Frisk shook her head.

"No way. You'll have to watch them with me sometime. It'll be much more fun to watch them with a fellow fan." She grinned.

Sans could see the unease both of the girls had entered this interaction with melt away. He was glad the two were bonding, though he couldn't help but feel a little left out. So, he coughed to get their attention and remind them that he was still there.

"Well ladies, there's still quite a bit left to see, so how about we get this show on the road?" He gestured to the door, leading them back into the main room of the lab.

"What do you work on, Sans?" Frisk asked. She now stuck close to Alphys, walking by her side. Even Alphys seemed pleased that she had met someone who was interested in anime. He felt a bit odd, since he had yet to connect to the princess as it seemed Alphys, Undyne, and Papyrus had.

"Come this way, I'll show you." He gave her a wink and led the other two down a long hall, away from the majority of workers. It was quiet down this hallway, and the lights were a bit dimmed. At the end of the hall was Dr. Gaster's personal research space, but to the right of that was the room Sans worked in.

"Welcome to my humble work station." He opened the door for them and stepped in. On every table and wall were human artifacts, from beautiful pieces of jewelry to the most base-seeming of objects. He turned to face his companions only to find Frisk squinting again.

"You work with junk?" She asked point blank, her polite manners seeming to have slipped a bit when she saw his work. He laughed.

"Heh. Some might call it that." He moved to a table, lifting what looked to be a very used golf ball.

"These have been enchanted with human magic." He held the ball out to her, but she didn't reach for it and instead moved her own hand to the beautiful emerald hanging at her neck. He set the ball back on the table.

"I study human magic. We can only get human magic from objects humans have put spells, as you call them, on. That golf ball was enchanted to always score a hole in one. Not very useful magic, but I'm sure the person got use out of it." He shrugged again.

"What are you using it for?" She asked, her fingers still lingering on her pendant.

He looked at her oddly. Did she really not know? He looked towards Alphys, who seemed to have the same puzzled expression on her face.

"We study human magic, so we can learn more about how it works. So we can learn how to lift the 'curse' that humans put on this island. The curse that keeps everyone here." He explained, watching her face for any recognition. She seemed even more confused.

"Curse? What curse?" Her eyes now held a bit of fright in them. He could see that she was coming to the conclusion and just wanted it to be confirmed.

Sans looked at Alphys again. She was staring at him wide-eyed, at a loss of what to say. He wasn't sure what else to say either. He couldn't outright lie to the girl. He decided to try to let her down with tact.

"There's a reason that we can't live on the human mainland. A long time ago, humans and monsters lived in harmony. Until one day they didn't. Humans won the fight and sent us all to this island, then cursed the island so that we weren't able to leave." He explained, not getting into the gory details. If she wanted them later, he would happily oblige her. But right now, he could see that she just needed the rundown.

He could see the wheels turning in Frisk's mind. Her eyes were too expressive for her own good. Her face finally smoothed over with understanding.

"So, no one who comes here can leave either." She stated as a fact.

"Correct."

"So, Alphys didn't order the handkerchief."

"Correct."

"I-I f-f-found i-it i-i-in th-the d-dump…"

The girl stood there for a moment, eyes on the linoleum tile that lined the floor. And before anyone could react, she took off out the door, running almost at break-neck speed. Alphys started after her but Sans blocked her.

"Let me. I can catch up to her easier." He explained before running after the girl.

He followed the clicking of heels until he couldn't hear them anymore. He continued in the same direction he had started, almost tripping over the shoes Frisk had unceremoniously abandoned during her run. He stopped in front of the custodial closet at the sound of retching and grimaced. She wasn't taking this very well. He supposed he wouldn't have either.

He slowly opened the door, panting slightly.

"Heh, looks like you actually did get me to run today…heh…" He tried as he found the little pile that was Frisk crouched over one of the buckets. He squatted next to her, hesitating for a moment before placing his hand on her back.

"I…I'm sorry you had to find out this way… Everyone thought you knew…"

She turned to look at him, her eyes already red and puffy from her crying. It was quite an ugly sight, but at the same time endearing. Skeletons could definitely NOT look like that.

She gave him a small, sad, and pathetic smile.

"Thanks… for telling me…" She turned away from him again to face her little bucket. He paused for a moment before pulling her to face him and leave the bucket behind.

"You don't need to look at that…" He mumbled. He'd get Burgerpants to clean it up later.

"I just…" Her eyes welled with tears and her teeth clenched before she continued. "I just don't understand." He could see her fighting back a flood of emotions, trying to hold it all inside. To not be considered weak.

"Why no one told you?" He offered. She nodded.

"Why they would send me here…" She looked away.

"I don't know." He put it bluntly. "But you're here. I don't think anyone would blame you for being upset, if you're worried about what people would think." She frowned at him. He sighed.

"The truth of everything is…" He used his free hand to gently rub at his skull. "There's a story…a prophecy… that says two strong souls will appear one day and lift the curse. Chara washed up on our shores a long time ago. Everyone thought he was the start of it. Years passed but another human never appeared. But now you're here. Everyone has hope again. Since the humans sent YOU to us, it means they're willing to help us." He paused. "It's not ideal that you were sent here on false pretenses, but everyone really is glad you're here. I don't want you to be angry at them."

She looked at him, taking deep breaths to steady herself. She pulled out her own handkerchief to wipe at her nose. Her brow furrowed as she opened her mouth and then closed it. She was struggling to ask her first question.

"B-But I can't lift the barrier." She said shakily. "I-I don't have m-magic…"

He shook his head and grinned at her.

"Do you know what that necklace is?" He asked. Her face turned from sour to curious. She looked down at her chest.

"It's a family heirloom my aunt gave me after I went to live with her and my uncle. My aunt said it would protect me." She explained.

"Heh. It's a really strong heirloom, and it's not for protection. It's a magic suppressant. Very rare to come by. Do you always wear it? Never take it off?" He asked.

She frowned deeply and grabbed the pendant, giving him a curt nod.

He winked.

"Don't sell yourself so short, kid." He stood, offering his hand and pulled her up to her feet. "Do you want me to go get Prince Chara so he can-"

"No!" She cried and furiously shook her head, a few strings of her hair coming loose out of her immaculately placed hairdo.

He blinked at her.

"He…He's an asshole." She explained, flushing at her confession. He laughed.

"You have sharp eyes… At least let me take you someplace you can sit down." He began to open the door as he felt her arms wrap around him in a soft warm hug unlike any other he had experienced up to that point.

"Thank you, Sans…" She whispered softly before letting go of him.

The hug had barely lasted a few seconds, but it would be something that Sans thought about often in the coming days, especially when he was feeling particularly lonely.

"Heh… It's nothing, princess."

* * *

Frisk was in no mood to play nice, play fair, or be a good teammate.

She chose the heaviest hitting character in UnderLook and chased after every single person on the opposite team until she cornered them and took them out. Her team lost match after match because she wouldn't cooperate, but she didn't care. She had been sent to an island full of creatures of another species to do what? Be their savior? What a load of bullshit.

 _PunnyGuy69 has signed on_

She sighed softly. At least PunnyGuy could probably put her in a better mood. She sent an invitation for him to make a group with her and once he accepted, she initiated the voice chat.

"Come here often?"

Just the sound of his voice almost brought her to tears for the millionth time that day. What could they have been if she hadn't been arbitrarily selected to free the monster kingdom? Would she have offered to meet him? Could they have been real friends? More? For the first time she was truly mourning the life she could have had.

"You always gotta flirt?" She asked, pulling them into a game. She quickly locked into the tank I. Nk before anyone else could. She was going for a team kill this round.

"You seem particularly bitchy today, Frisky." He said playfully, giving a small laugh. The laugh gave her a mild case of déjà vu, but she chalked it up to having not played in over a week and forgetting what he sounded like.

"My life is going to shit and I have to take it out somewhere." She grumbled as she moved her character into a prime hiding spot just outside of the enemy's spawn room. She wouldn't let them even get five feet out the door.

"You wanna fuck with our team too?"

She smiled for the first time since she had been with Sans that afternoon.

"You know me so well."

They spent most of their time trolling not only the opposing team but also their own team. She would use her ultimate (the I. Nk mech vomited oil that was generally used to trap the enemy team) and then PunnyGuy would use the pyromaniac character to set it on fire. Not only was the enemy team trapped, but their own team as well. Everyone went up in flames and she laughed like a crazy person. PunnyGuy laughed along with her.

"Heh. Sounds like you're feeling better."

"Thanks to you." She confided. His laugh was starting to remind her of Sans's. They weren't the same person, of course, but it made her more curious about who he was in general.

"Why did you name yourself PunnyGuy?" She asked. He didn't miss a beat.

"It's what one of my friends calls me. She likes puns as much as I do. Heh."

Frisk could feel her eyes beginning to squint as they usually did when she was faced with a conundrum. She had to probe… just in case. But she had to make it seem natural.

"I can't imagine anyone liking puns as much as you do."

"Okay, maybe she doesn't like puns as much as I do." He laughed again. She felt her face flushing. Him and Sans just couldn't be the same person. Maybe she was just trying to equate one with the other to make herself feel better. Like part of her "before" life following her into reality.

"This is going to be random, but do you like ketchup?" She asked. It wasn't smooth. At all. But she was tired and needed to prove to herself that she was making up impossible scenarios to make herself feel better. Like her entire world wasn't falling apart.

He paused.

"What?" He asked, obviously confused. "That really was random."

She kicked herself mentally.

"Yeah, it is, I just thought-" She began.

"I love the stuff. Sometimes I drink it straight out of the bottle."

Her heart stopped. Queen Toriel had told her Sans drank it. This could still just be coincidence. Lots of people liked ketchup, though drinking it out of the bottle was quite extreme. She needed to press further. To kill any kind of hope she was trying to build.

"Hey…" Her voice was quiet, and she could hear him let out a stiff breath.

"What's your real name?"

Silence.

"Will you tell me yours, too?" He asked, his voice quieting as well. She hesitated.

"Yes." Telling him her real name wouldn't hurt because PunnyGuy was obviously NOT Sans and therefore no harm would be done.

"Heh. Okay. I'm Sans."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late update! Thanksgiving and finals happened, and then I went and injured myself. At least I had downtime to write, yeah? Hope this chapter was worth the wait.


	4. Chapter 4

Frisk hadn't left her castle apartment in days. The girl was turning away everyone except for her little whimsun assistant, Imelda, who took her food and reported back that there was still no change in the girl's demeanor.

Gloom seemed to spread throughout the castle. Their seed of hope was diminishing, and not only that, all of the friends the girl had made were turned away, leaving them to stew in their sadness more than the other creatures.

The poor thing hadn't _known_ that she was being sent to the island to help them break the barrier that surrounded their island. Sans had reported that she didn't even know magic, that she has been wearing a magic suppressing pendant for most of her life. Everyone seemed in just as much shock as the girl was.

Everyone except Queen Toriel.

Toriel was not ignorant to the fact that Frisk had been sent here under false reasons. She had been Frisk's aunt's partner in crime in setting the whole thing up. And she felt terribly guilty. This had not turned out the way she had hoped it would. She had been so hopeful when the girl's aunt had reached out to her, and as queen she had to do what was best for her people, even if it meant bringing in a human child and forcing them to stay.

Her motherly instincts had not let her sit still since she had found out Frisk's dilemma and that the poor thing had locked herself away, almost like a princess in some sort of fairytale. And SHE was the evil queen who had forced the girl into the tower.

Toriel paced in front of the girl's door, her faced scrunched into a grimace of worry. She couldn't let the child waste away in there. She wanted to respect Frisk's boundaries, but three days without seeing anyone was enough. As queen, and more importantly, as a mother, she couldn't wait around any longer. Frisk had wallowed in self-pity long enough. It was time for the queen to take action.

She pulled the spare bedroom key out of her sleeve before knocking lightly on the girl's door.

"Go. Away." Was the response she received.

She gathered her strength and slipped the key into the lock and twisted.

"I told you, I'm not hungry, Imel-" Frisk stopped when she saw the giant figure in the doorway.

"Q-Queen!" The girl dove back under the blanket she was lying beneath on her small couch. Some kind of human cartoon was playing on her TV and there were piles of trash and barely touched trays of food surrounding her. Now Toriel understood why Imelda kept avoiding her questions about Frisk's eating habits.

"I'm sorry to intrude, Frisk," The woman said as she closed the door and locked it behind her again. "But I thought you might need someone to talk to."

Toriel delicately stepped around the mayhem that had collected on the floor, making her way towards the couch. This one girl had made enough mess for both of her sons. She supposed it was to be expected given the girl's emotional state. She sat down on the far end of the couch, the blanket pile that was a human girl letting out a soft groan.

"May I see your face, child?" She asked softly but got no response. She sighed. "I…I know all of this comes as quite a shock to you. This is not the way I had planned for you to find out."

That got the girl's attention. The blankets shifted, and a tangled head of hair popped out. The poor girl was going to need some TLC from Imelda soon. The poor creature always seemed exceptionally depressed when she left Frisk's room. Now the queen could see why.

"You knew?" The girl's tone was harsh, almost like a wounded animal. She supposed she deserved that.

"Yes. As did your aunt." Toriel explained calmly, smoothing out her robes. She looked at the small girl closely now. There were deep shadows under her eyes, her clothes were a mess. She didn't look like she had seen the inside of a bathtub in days. She was almost feral-looking.

"Of course she knew." She almost spat. It seemed she had already figured out that part on her own.

"Yes…" Toriel paused. If only she had made some of her famous pie before coming in. It would surely help ease the blows she was surely about to land.

"She knew. She knew a lot, actually. What do you know about your necklace?" She asked. Sans had explained it to her, and she had to act surprised, but she had known about the enchanted emerald the whole time.

"Family heirloom. Apparent magic suppressant. Keeper of lies." The girl grumbled. It made Toriel smile. Even though the girl was angry, she was still endearing.

"Not quite. Your aunt did give it to you to protect you."

She received a glare.

"How do you know so much about my aunt?"

"…We've been pen pals… For a very long time."

"How were you able to be pen pals if no one can leave?" The girl was giving her an unattractive squint. Toriel wanted to correct her, but she had to remember this one wasn't her child.

"Do you remember how you were able to get on the island?" The queen asked patiently.

Frisk thought for a moment.

"The boat on your side extended a plank that I walked across." She said. Toriel nodded.

"The barrier surrounds the island about a mile out on all sides. We sail a ship to greet the human one and have them pass the mail between the boats. We don't get mail often, but that's how we're able to send and receive letters. Not many of us have any reason to send mail, you see." Toriel fidgeted slightly. She really wished she had brought of piece of pie. Or hot chocolate. Or any kind of food to give to the girl.

"I 'met' your aunt while I was searching for Chara's family. To let them know he was doing all right. We had been pen pals for a long time. Before you even came into their lives."

"How did you meet my aunt?" Frisk cocked her head to one side. Toriel was expecting this question at some point, so she had an answer prepared.

"Your aunt has… had, a very special type of magic. Not only for human magic, but also for monsters. She could see… parts of the future." The queen explained, not sure how else to put it. "I was turned on to her by someone else I had approached about Chara. She was of great help in locating Chara's family. She asked me for a favor in return for helping me. She wanted me to allow her niece to come live on the island."

Frisk frowned. It was obvious the girl wasn't sure about this tale Toriel was weaving.

"She foresaw that you would help to free us one day, but more importantly, she foresaw that you would be happy here." She finished.

"Did she tell you anything else?" The girl asked. Toriel shook her head.

"She was very vague about everything. I suspect she didn't know much more than that." Toriel gave her a soft smile. "Her magic was never really strengthened. My understanding is that magic is outlawed in the human lands, so she probably didn't want to attract any more attention to herself."

She paused to let Frisk ruminated over the information, watching the girl's face carefully. Frisk looked at her hands for a moment, clenching and unclenching them.

"Why did you tell me when I got here?" She asked. It wasn't accusatory or bitter, just a question of why. Toriel knew the poor thing must be blaming her aunt more than anyone else at the moment.

Toriel sighed.

"I wanted you to find your happiness naturally. I know we were planning a wedding for you and Chara… Your aunt did say you would get married here… I was hoping that would be what was in your future. I can see now that that's not what you needed." She reached out and placed one of her hands over Frisk's.

The girl looked up at her, her eyes red and ready to spill tears again.

"Do I still have to marry him?" She asked in a whisper. Toriel smiled and shook her head.

"No… Not unless you both choose to do so yourselves."

Now Frisk did start crying, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was a silent cry of resignation.

"What…What am I supposed to do now?" Frisk sniffed. "I-I don't know how to do anything else. I was only ever taught how to be a princess… to be a wife." Panic was rising in her voice. "I don't know how to _be_ anyone else."

Toriel shook her head softly.

"I think you know exactly how to be yourself. You don't need to worry about being anyone else from now on. As for what you'll do…" She paused. "You can do whatever you want. You'll stay here, of course. We'll take care of you. You can discover what you want to do. I'm sure everyone here will be happy to help."

Frisk offered her a weak smile.

"I don't even know where to start."

"You don't need to be in any kind of rush. You can start slowly." The queen assured, moving to pat the girl's head. "Actually, why don't we start by getting you a bath and have Imelda tackle this hair."

"O-okay…"

* * *

Word had traveled around the kingdom that the girl had locked herself in her room after finding out she was brought here to save everyone. It devastated some of the other monsters. Papyrus had been especially affected.

"WHY DIDN'T THE HUMANS TELL HER?" He had asked Sans pitifully.

"I don't know, bro." Sans really didn't know. Seeing her crumble in the janitor's closet was enough for him. She had looked so pitiful. He felt helpless, like everyone else the girl had met.

She hadn't wanted to see anyone. Not even Papyrus, even though she had been so worried about him after Chara treated him like a pile of garbage in front of her. Papyrus had told him all about it, and when he told his brother Frisk had been worried about him, it made the younger skeleton even more upset. He had rushed to her door and had practically begged her to let him in. Or at least just to talk to him. But the girl remained stubborn and selfish and continued to stay in her room.

"SHE DIDN'T DESERVE BEING LIED TO."

"She didn't." He had agreed.

Besides the drama that was going on at the castle, he had other drama going on in his life.

Three nights ago, he had told FriskyLady07 his real name. When she heard his name she only spat,

" _You already know my name."_

And signed off immediately after.

She hadn't been on since. It was driving him crazy. He considered himself a fairly intelligent guy, but this was one riddle he couldn't figure out. Her name? How was he supposed to know her name already? And what did it mean that she signed off immediately after learning his name? And the questions she had asked beforehand. It seemed like she knew who _he_ was already. She didn't even let him ask for an explanation. He had stayed up night after night, waiting for her to get on. His anxieties sat in his stomach day and night like a leaden weight. Only worry for his brother took his mind off his own crisis.

He was pretty sure he had somehow, in some weird way, ruined whatever he had with FriskyLady07. He knew their friendship would end someday, but he didn't expect it to be like this. She was supposed to lose interest in the game, and subsequently in him. They would drift apart. It would have been easier that way. This was heart wrenching. Only now did he realize how much he had cared about her. Sure, he had a "crush" on her, but he felt… empty knowing she was no longer going to be in his life.

"S-Sans…?"

Maybe he could turn his attention to the human girl already here. Alphys had pointed out how he had been looking at Frisk while they had been on their tour. According to Alphys, he had been staring a bit too hard at her every move. Thankfully, no one else seemed to have noticed besides Alphie. Would've been pretty bad if Chara of all people had noticed. He didn't think the prince would take too kindly to someone like him staring like that at something that was supposed to be "his."

"S-Sans!"

He jumped, finally noticing Alphys standing next to him.

He had been back in his little room in the lab that was filled with human objects, spacing out while working on a hammer that would never strike your thumb. He had no idea how long he had been out of it, but it was long enough for Alphys to not only come in but to stand next to him and have to practically shout to get his attention.

"Heh. Sorry, Alphie. Didn't notice you there." He tried to play it off. "What d'ya need?"

"Th-they're looking f-for you. Sh-she asked for you." She explained with hardly any stuttering.

"Who?" He was confused.

She sighed.

"J-Just come on." She gently tugged the sleeve of his lab coat and pulled him towards the door.

He got out of his chair and followed after her, curious and a bit worried that this wasn't something very good.

Instead they were greeted by the little whimsun named Imelda.

"S-Sans!" She looked relieved to see him. "You must come with me at once. Miss Frisk asked to see you." She started to flit out the door.

"W-Wait…what?" Sans looked over at Alphys who looked as confused as he felt. The rest of the lab was staring at them as well. Great. He was now a spectacle.

"I don't know much, but I'll try to explain on the way." Imelda quickly flapped her wings and flew out the door. He followed her out and quickly caught up to her.

"Why does she want me?" He asked.

"I-I don't know. This morning Toriel went in and talked to her. After that she asked to talk to you. And only you." Imelda was panting with the effort it was taking her to fly so fast.

"Here." He offered his hand to her. "I know a shortcut."

* * *

When they reached the human's room, Sans dropped Imelda's hand and stared at the door. He was exhausted and in really no mood to entertain the girl, whatever it was that she wanted. He was probably being a bit harsh on her, but she was worrying everyone needlessly. And of all people to call to make herself feel better, it was him.

Imelda went to the door, knocking gently.

"Miss Frisk? I've brought Sans." She called meekly. A few moments later the door opened a smidge.

"Go on…" The whimsun motioned for him to go in.

Now he was a bit nervous. Was he going to find the human sprawled on a fainting couch, crying about her life was terrible? Ruined? That she had to stay on an island filled with monsters? That was probably what she was really upset about. And probably why he was in such a foul mood when it came to her lately. If she was upset about being with monsters for the rest of her life, there was no way FriskyLady07 would accept him for who he was. That was his main insecurity.

He stepped inside to be greeted by the girl. She looked vastly different from when he had seen her those three other times. She was dressed in a t-shirt, fleece pajama shorts, and fuzzy socks. Her hair was still wet and falling around her shoulders messily, and there were bags under her eyes. She held a trash bag that was filled with random bits of food, packaging, and pieces of paper that had been crumpled up into balls. The windows were open so that a nice breeze was filling the room, but other than that, it looked like a troll's cave.

"Heh. You look like a gremlin." He offered the girl a small laugh. He couldn't help himself. She had looked so put together the other days. Seeing her like this made her feel more… real. She had acted like a porcelain doll except for when he had caught her slipping up with Alphys and when she called him short.

She squinted at him.

"That's fresh coming from someone who is a gremlin." She returned.

If he had been drinking anything, he would have spit it out in classic comedic style. She had surprised him.

He laughed.

"Wow. You've really changed in three days." He grinned.

She moved away from the door and gestured for him to sit on her couch. There were two mugs of warm hot chocolate sitting on the table in front of it, despite it being a warm August day outside. It looked like Tori had struck again. He sat on the couch obediently, waiting for her to start. She set the trash bag down before taking her seat on the opposite side of the couch from him.

She stared at him. Well, squinted at him. She didn't say anything, but he could tell she was sizing him up. But for what?

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked nervously. She tilted her head.

"You haven't figure it out." She stated.

"Figured what out?" He asked. None of this was making sense. Maybe she was losing her mind with grief? But she didn't seem weirded out by his presence. Maybe she was good at hiding her disgust for him and other monsters? She opened her eyes a tiny bit and looked between him and the hot chocolate.

"That one's supposed to be yours." She pointed to one of the mugs. "I haven't drunk out of either, so you can have what you want."

He didn't really want hot chocolate, but he took one of the mugs anyway. He felt like it would be a mistake not to drink it. She didn't look like she was in the mood to continually ask him if he wanted any.

"So… what should I have figured out by now?" He asked. She was giving him that strange squint again. Then she sighed.

"I thought you were supposed to be smart," She paused, then gave him a smirk. "Fuck face."

* * *

Frisk could see Sans's brain working in his eyes. He might have had a permanent, giant grin on his face, but his eyes were what showed his emotions. She had already figured that out.

"Frisk…" He thought out loud. "Frisk…y…Lady?" He asked weakly. Uncertainly. She couldn't quite place the emotion she saw in his eyes. Fear? Relief? Surprise? All three?

"PunnyGuy… With the numbers you know I don't like saying." She returned, her arms crossed. She could see it finally registering for him on his face. And…was he blushing? His cheeks were getting blue. Could skeletons blush? They didn't have to follow human biology, she realized. They weren't human.

He began to say something but his grip on his mug weakened and she had to spring forward to grab the mug from him. She put it back on the table.

"Guess I have to carry you in the real world too." She joked. A bit of hot chocolate had splashed onto his lab coat. "You got something…" She looked back up to his face, but he still seemed in complete shock. He looked like he had malfunctioned. If he were a computer, he would be giving her a blue screen of death.

"Sans?" She asked, worry rising in her. "I didn't mean it! It was a joke!" She was about to start shaking the skeleton when he let out a hearty chuckle.

"Wow. You almost killed me, princess." He leaned his head onto the back of the couch as he laughed. "I was so worried I messed up somehow. That you hated me." He looked at her and she could tell he was irritated.

"I panicked." She gave him a weak smile. He laughed again and shook his head.

"Scared the shit out of me." He paused. "And out of everyone in the castle." He added, almost as if he were scolding her.

"Can you blame me? My family sent me here to do something I can't even do. I'm surrounded by people I don't even know." Frisk sighed. "When I figured out who you were I just kind of panicked… I'm sorry."

She could see his eyes soften a little bit.

"And I'll tell everyone else I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to make everyone worry, but it looks like I didn't think. I figured everyone would lose interest when they figured out that I can't even use magic."

"…Why would they lose interest in you? I know Pap and Alphys like you as yourself, not for what you can or can't do." Sans told her. "I like you for who you are. Filthy mouth and all."

She looked away and let herself blush. She never thought she would be unconditionally accepted like this, and in such a short period of time as well. It was only a few people, but more than she had ever expected.

"So, what did you _really_ call me in here to talk about?" The skeleton asked.

Frisk repeated to Sans what Toriel had told her earlier, leaving out the details that she was supposed to find happiness and love in the monster kingdom. He didn't really need to know that part. It was embarrassing enough for her to know that her aunt wanted to play matchmaker for her. She made sure, though, to let Sans know there wouldn't be a wedding. Not that she could see, anyway.

He sat there for a moment after she had spoken, absorbing the information.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked.

"I don't know… Queen Toriel said I could do whatever I wanted. I don't even know what I want." She frowned.

"I guess that's what you have to do then."

She looked at him curiously.

"Do what?"

"Figure out what you want to do." He laughed softly. "You just need to try things until you find something you like to do. Anything you'd like to try?"

She sat for a moment, thinking. Her aunt had given her a basic education with math, science, history, and language… And she had also taught her traditionally feminine pursuits like cooking, sewing, and the art of manners. But what was something she had always wanted to do but was never allowed to? Her hand went to the necklace at her throat.

"I want to learn magic."

* * *

A/N: Happy extra chapter this week! Since I'm hurt I can't do much except sit around, so here's a surprise for you guys. See you next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

"Wow. You really grew all of this?"

Asgore had insisted on bringing Frisk to the gardens after breakfast to get her some fresh air and to get her outside after her three-day hibernation in her rooms. Frisk hadn't been so sure about going out and gardening, but she had made up her mind about trying as much as she could to figure out what she wanted to focus on. Toriel had outfitted her with her own gardening gloves and a wide-brimmed straw hat to protect her delicate complexion from the sun. The hat paired with Imelda's impeccable curling of her hair, and her cute overalls and T-shirt, Frisk had to admit she looked like a cute gardener. Not a practical gardener, but a cute one. While looking in the mirror she caught herself wondering what Sans would think of her if he saw her dressed like this. Then she frowned. Nothing, probably.

All flirting had stopped once he had figured out who she was. Was she not to his liking? Or was it just because she was actually "real" and he had to act accordingly? She didn't know, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed. Maybe humans weren't really his thing. She shouldn't have been so worked up about it, either. She decided just to forget about whatever the flirting and no-flirting meant and simply focus on the more important things going on in her life. Like trying to find some kind of meaning to her life.

"Of course." Asgore let out a deep, hearty laugh. It was a nice laugh. The kind a loving father and husband would have. It made her yearn for… for family.

"And here are the sunflowers." He said happily as the descended a small hill. The garden was located behind the castle, and it was quite expansive for the size of the island. But it wasn't a private garden just for the enjoyment of the royal family. It was open to everyone as long as no one plucked any flowers with Asgore's permission. If you asked, he would probably tell you 'yes' anyway.

The sunflowers were set apart from the rest of the garden in their own small little field of to the side. Children were running through the rows and giggling when their friends. It made Frisk smile to see them enjoying something that was… meant for her cancelled wedding. She wasn't terribly upset about the wedding being called off, but she did feel guilty that all this preparation had been for nothing in the end. Maybe if her aunt was right there would be a wedding someday.

"They're beautiful!" She remarked as they approached. The children stopped playing and stared up her with wide eyes. When they saw Asgore, however, their shyness disappeared, and they ran to king, hugging him around the legs.

"Can we have one?" One of the children asked, meaning the sunflowers.

"Oh, well, you'll have to ask Miss Frisk. I grew them for her, afterall." Asgore laughed. The children turned, their eyes once again wide, but this time they were pleading with her.

"Oh, I don't know… I don't think I can let you have one…" She frowned playfully. The children looked shocked, almost offended.

"I think we need to get three of them so you can each have one." She smiled. The children gasped and cheered.

"Thank you!" They chorused as Asgore handed each of them a sunflower. The stalks looked empty without their blossoms on top, but it was better this way. At least someone would get to enjoy the flowers before they passed when autumn set in.

"That was very kind of you." Asgore gently pat her shoulder. It was her turn to laugh.

"It was kind of you to grow them just for me. Sunflowers are happy flowers. They should be shared as much as possible." She repeated what her mother had once told her. Sunflowers were also her mother's favorite flower. It was something she inherited.

She looked at the flowers again and noticed something wasn't quite… right about them. They were standing tall and proud, but their "faces" were turned every which way. Even ones that had been planted next to each other were facing opposite directions.

"Ki… Asgore, what's wrong with them?" She asked, looking up at the king who had kindly asked her to drop his title.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking a bit puzzled.

"They're not facing the sun. They're facing… wherever…" She frowned deeper.

"Oh… well, you should look up." He said softly.

She looked up at the sky, squinting to avoid getting the sun in her eyes. She looked from one horizon to the next, her confusion growing. It was a bright, sunny day without clouds but…

"I don't see the sun."

"Correct." Asgore sighed softly. "It's a symptom of the barrier."

"The barrier blocks the sun?"

"Come to the green house, child. I'll do my best to explain everything."

Frisk followed after the king, still squinting at the sky.

"The barrier… it blocks the sky. And the weather. It's so strong that we've never seen the sun or the moon… Or clouds, for that matter." He sounded tired as he spoke. Tired of life on the island. Of being stuck.

"But it's still sunny out…" Frisk looked behind her just as the door to the greenhouse was closing. It looked like a beautiful day outside. Except there wasn't any sun. Now her sunhat seemed ridiculous.

"That would be the Core." Asgore led her to their project for the day. They were going to be planting a few tropical plants into an empty corner of the building. They both got on their knees. Asgore instructed her on how to dig the holes before continuing his explanation.

"The Core was created and is still maintained by Dr. Gaster, the head royal scientist. You'll meet him soon, I'm sure. He's been away doing maintenance on the Core but he should be back in the next few days." He paused to wiggle a small seedling out of its planter.

"The Core regulates magic here. It helps us in many ways. It maintains normal weather patterns, for one. Before, monsters would have to come together to change the weather. It was a very taxing job, so everyone was excited when the Core was created. The Core also alters the passing of time."

Frisk frowned.

"It alters time?"

"No, just the passage. Everything is… slower, here. Aging, for example. We're all quite a bit older than what you probably think we are. Chara, for example, is probably… a few years older than your uncle." He laughed.

Frisk frowned.

"He's older than sixty-eight?" Her aunt sent her here to marry an old man? But if what Asgore was telling her was true, then he wasn't really an old man. Just in numbers.

"Correct." Asgore laughed. "In rotations of the planet, he's seventy."

She sat with this for a moment.

"So, the Core slows time?" She asked again, for clarification.

"In a way." Asgore laughed again. The more this conversation continued, the more confused Frisk felt about everything.

"The magic here is really what slows everything. Before the Core, however, the magic was chaotic. Monsters could age very quickly or not at all. It was a gamble. Some children would reach old age before their parents even reached middle-age." He sighed softly.

"When I hired Dr. Gaster, I wanted him to fix this problem. He's brilliant, if a bit unorthodox. With the Core, he regulated both time and the weather to help give our island some sense of peace. Now families are able to grow together. It's a small thing, but it helps bring peace to everyone."

Frisk paused in her digging to think. That was… a lot to take in. It was a lot for the monsters that were trapped on this island. She couldn't imagine having a child and watching them grow up and pass away while she was still young. What a tragedy. But everyone she had met so far seemed… happy. Maybe not with being stuck here, but happy with the people around them. She could learn a thing or two from them.

"Why is the magic so chaotic here? My aunt always told me that there was magic everywhere. That it's kind of like… air." She could feel herself squinting in thought.

"Magic is like air. But it acts differently, as I'm sure you know. Monsters can use magic better than humans can. Every monster can use magic to some extent. Only certain humans can." He explained. She nodded.

"All this magic is… trapped inside the barrier. It can't disperse naturally. It can't regulate itself as it can outside of the barrier. Dr. Gaster was able to figure out what was wrong and fixed it with the Core. I'm sorry I can't explain it better. He told me, but it went right over my head!" He chuckled.

"That's okay." She smiled at him. "I probably wouldn't understand even if you explained it to me. Magic is… new to me."

"Toriel told me that humans have outlawed magic. I was surprised to hear such a thing. It's not really a thing you can effectively ban." Asgore shook his head. "I'm not sure what to think of it."

"People get around it." She went back to digging the small holes while Asgore began to place the plants into their new homes. Gardening was… peaceful. And being out here with the king made her feel like she was really bonding with a father figure.

He laughed.

"I'm sure they do. I would."

* * *

Although Sans and Frisk had made the request for magic training, they were all still waiting on Dr. Gaster to get back with the name of someone who would be able to help her learn. Human magic wasn't something anyone was really familiar with. Chara didn't seem to possess any kind of magic as they understood it, and based on the information they had about Frisk's aunt, who was a blood relative, Frisk's magic might be so different from any that they knew. They wanted to find the best teacher for her if she really was going to be learning magic.

Until then, his friend was left in limbo, so Sans had invited her to spend the afternoon with him in the lab. Gaster had agreed as long as she didn't distract him from the important tasks he needed to perform. She was sitting quietly at one of the tables, inspecting different objects and jotting down notes about them as instructed. She had come in wearing muddy overalls and mussed curls, so she again had to don the lab coat. And goggles for protection, of course. No one else wore them, but he wasn't going to risk her safety. Plus, she seemed fine wearing them and she looked so damn _cute_ in them that he would have made up an excuse for her to wear them anyway.

Even though he had promised Gaster that she wouldn't be a distraction, and even though Frisk really wasn't doing anything distracting, he was distracted.

Frisk was some kind of miracle for him. He remembered lying in bed, secretly wishing that somehow FriskyLady07 and the future human princess were the same person. And somehow, the universe heard his wish and granted it. Sans didn't really care if she would be the one to break the barrier or not. She was still a godsend for him. What made it even sweeter was that she wasn't marrying Chara anymore. He could _technically_ make a move. But now that she was here, and she was _real_ , he couldn't even think of one stupid pick up line.

"You never told me you've never seen the stars."

Her voice startled him out of his thoughts and he realized that he had been staring at her. He could feel his cheeks heating up.

"Was I supposed to?" He asked, a bit puzzled. She squinted at him. That adorable, little squint that almost closed her eyes completely.

"You told me once that when you were a kid you wanted to be an astronaut." She explained, setting down an enchanted pencil. "But you've never seen the stars."

"Heh. Kids and their crazy ideas, huh?" He looked away. It was pretty painful to think about it. He remembered when his father broke the news to him that he could never see the stars, much less visit them. It was his first real heartbreak.

"I hope we can look at the stars together, someday." She said before going back to studying the pencil. To her, it probably seemed like a million others.

Sans looked up suddenly.

"You should try taking it off." He suggested.

He could see her puzzled look as she held the pencil up to the light, looking at it more closely.

"What is there to take off the pencil?" She asked. He blinked. Guess she hadn't been following along with his own inner thoughts, then.

"Heh. Not the pencil. Your necklace. Have you ever taken it off?" He asked. Her hand moved to grab the emerald pendant. He was picking up that that was a nervous habit of some kind.

"I haven't since my aunt gave it to me. She put it on me when she came to visit me in the hospital… after the accident." She explained, her voice darkening. He took it as a cue not to satisfy his curiosity about the accident exactly. He knew her parents had died in an accident of some kind, but he had never thought to ask how. She never seemed like she wanted to go into detail, so he left it alone.

"Maybe you should try taking it off for short amounts of time. To feel your magic. Your aunt gave it to you for a reason." He shrugged. "Or maybe you should wait until Dr. 'Gaster finds you a teacher…" He paused, then looked at her slyly. "If you wanna look like a wuss."

It was an underhanded way of goading her, but he knew how competitive she was and how much she HATED being called anything but strong, brave, and confident. It was still hard to put the ferocious girl he knew online with the sweet-looking and mild-mannered person Frisk had presented as when they first met (formally) together.

He could see her countenance change at the challenge, a light flickering behind her eyes. He could tell that she was hesitant to unleash her magic, but he watched as she reached behind her neck, hands unsure, and undid the clasp with hesitant fingers.

"There. Now you can't call me a wuss." She said proudly.

He smirked.

"You're still holding it." He chided. She frowned… no, not frowned, _pouted,_ and set the necklace down on the table. It was at this moment that Sans's scientist brain kicked in and he realized he should be documenting everything for further review. He flipped to a new page in his notebook, looked at his watch, and documented the time.

They sat silent and unmoving, waiting for something to happen.

"Do you feel anything?" He asked.

"No… I don't really feel any different at all." She looked and sounded disappointed. He could imagine why. She had been wearing that necklace for almost a decade, and now that it was off, she couldn't feel any different. No magic or anything. He would be disappointed too.

"Maybe it's been on so long that it'll take time for the effects to wear off." He suggested.

"Don't try to make me feel better, Sans." She sighed. "Maybe this was another one of my aunt's lies. Maybe I don't have any sort of magic, but she gave me this thing to make everyone think I did. She was a better liar than I ever realized." She stared at the small emerald lying before her.

"I guess I really am a disappointment to everyone." She whispered. She looked like a withering rose, her petals slowly dying and decaying as they fell off one by one. It was one of the saddest things he had ever witnessed, and he could feel his eye starting to spark. Before she could notice his eye illuminating, he calmed himself down.

"You're not a disappointment. Not to me, anyway." He said, wanting more than anything to go to her and fold her into his arms and hold her so tightly that all of her sadness was squeezed out like a sponge.

She looked up quickly, a strange look on her face. It was a curious look, but not the squint that he had gotten used to. It was something different altogether and he wasn't exactly sure what it was. Then she smiled.

"Thanks, Sans. You've been such a good friend to me. I wish I could do something for you." She said quietly, still giving him that soft, warm smile. He could have melted under it.

"I just want you to find some kind of happiness here. If you have to be stuck here, the least I can do is help you with that." He looked up from his notes and gazed at her. Did he spy a… slight pinkness to her cheeks? Surely not. Someone like him wouldn't be able to make her blush.

"Hm…" Frisk looked thoughtful. "If you want to help me be happy… I need you to do something for me." She looked so sincere that he didn't even pause a moment to ask what it was.

"Anything." He said breathlessly.

"I need you to help me get into the top 500 on UnderLook's competitive play." She smiled at him.

"That's a lot of places you need to climb." He said, a bit puzzled. "And the current season ends when? Next week?"

"Yep. If you could just help me one night over this weekend, I can work the rest of the week on my own. Could you do that?" She asked. She looked so hopeful that he just couldn't say no or even argue semantics. He nodded.

"You're so awesome! Thank you!" She said happily, turning back to her work.

"So, bring your rig to my room on Friday evening. We're having an all-nighter." She scribbled something down.

"Wait… you mean like… a sleepover?" He asked, pausing. What had he just agreed to?

"No, an all-nighter. We're not sleeping till my rank's under four digits. It's very serious, Sans. We'll work better in the same room. Trust me on this." She smiled at him again.

He gave her what he hoped was a happy look in return.

"Heh. All righty then…"

* * *

A/N: What will happen at the sleepover? ...gaming, probably.


	6. Chapter 6

"Here it comes!" Asriel cried as he tossed the green, fuzzy ball into the air as he simultaneously raised his racket and hit it as it fell back to earth.

"Got it!" Frisk yelled, a bit louder than she needed to, as she readied her own racket. She watched the ball pass over the net, hit the ground once, and then she launched at it, swinging her racket and… spectacularly missed the ball altogether. The third time in a row.

"You were so much closer this time!" Asriel cheered, and Frisk knew he was entirely sincere. The prince was sincere in everything he did and said. He was genuinely happy that she had gotten a few inches closer to hitting the tennis ball this time. Just like he had been genuinely excited when she accepted his offer to teach her tennis, the sport she was least likely to hurt herself at as she started to ease into sports. It was his favorite, he had told her, and with the smile he gave her, she couldn't say no. It seemed like all the Dreemurrs were willing to help her, in their own way, find something for her to focus her energy on. All except one.

She had been gardening with Asgore in the mornings, playing tennis with Asriel during part of the afternoon, and Toriel had promised to teach her how to bake her famous pie. Chara, on the other hand, kept his distance from her, and she was fine with that. When she did see him, he seemed more relaxed. He glared at her less. He must have felt some relief of being let out of an arranged marriage. Now Frisk was just "the other human" and didn't threaten his way of life. Or so she guessed. It's what _she_ would have felt.

"Thanks… but maybe tennis just isn't for me." She laughed softly as she came jogging back to the court after chasing after the ball.

"Wanna take a break?" Asriel asked. It was still quite warm outside, and his mother had made sure to tell them both to stay hydrated. Especially Asriel. The guy was covered in fur, after all.

"That sounds like a great idea." She said as she wiped sweat from her forehead. They walked over to one of the few benches that sat at the edge of the court, where a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses were perched beside it. Toriel had it sent out to them not too long ago. Asriel told her it was Muffet's secret lemonade recipe.

Asriel poured each of them a glass before taking a seat next to her.

"Thanks." Frisked said and took a sip. It was unlike any lemonade she had drunk in her life. There was lemon, but hints of other flavors floated around in her mouth. She wasn't sure she liked it, if she was going to be honest.

"Maybe you just need more ADE for your tennis technique?" Asriel offered, holding his glass of lemonade up, looking from it to her with a grin. She paused for a moment before her will collapsed and she gave him a sputtering laugh.

"That was a terrible pun." She shook her head softly.

"I learned from mom and Sans, so I guess it would be pretty bad." He laughed and took a sip of his drink. She blinked gently. How old was Sans if the prince had learned from him? Maybe he meant just once Sans had started working at the castle. Sans couldn't be much older than her… biologically, at least.

"Your mom does a lot of puns?" She asked. She had mostly interacted with Toriel when she was being serious. Especially after she told the queen she had invited Sans for a sleepover. The queen had seemed quite distraught, fretting about how she was a girl and he was a boy, but then warring with herself that Frisk was technically an adult. After Frisk explained why she really wanted Sans to come over, Toriel had seemed much more at ease and even offered to help her. Frisk told her it would mean so much more if she did it alone, so Toriel had simply gathered the supplies for her and she set to work.

"Oh yeah. I've been hearing them since I was a kid." He smiled. She wasn't sure if that was another pun, considering he and his parents seemed to resemble goats. "Her and Sans always try to one up each other. Any chance he gets to make mom laugh, he takes it."

Frisk took another drink of lemonade. The mixture was growing on her. Maybe it was just that first drink. She thought as she sipped. So, Sans was always trying to make Toriel laugh? He went out of his way to do so? Suddenly, everything was fitting together. She smirked slightly. _Oh, Sans_ , she thought. He was trying to impress the forbidden fruit. An older, married woman. No wonder he stopped flirting with her. Wouldn't want to give the queen the wrong idea. She almost laughed into her drink.

"What's so funny?" Asriel cocked his head to the side, long ears drooping around his neck. Over the week, she had wondered if she would have been happier marrying Asriel rather than Chara. He was cute, in his own way, and very sweet. Even if marriages between monsters and humans could work, he was still the crown prince, and even then, he was still younger than her. By a biological year, but he still wasn't ready for marriage. His horns were still only just peeking out from the top of his head.

"Ah, nothing really." She assured him. She wasn't going to be the one to tell Asriel that she suspected Sans had a crush on his happily married mother. "I was just thinking about how Sans hasn't really said many puns around me. Some terrible jokes, sure, but not many puns."

"That's weird… He says them all the time around mom." Asriel looked to the sky thoughtfully.

 _I sure bet he does._ She thought devilishly. She was going to give him hell about it tonight, even if the thought of him having a crush on Toriel made her stomach clench unpleasantly.

"Have you thought about the end of summer dance?" Asriel asked, changing the subject.

"The what?" Frisk asked, quickly swallowing some lemonade. She hadn't heard of any dance.

"Oh? I guess no one's told you yet. It's still a few weeks away, so maybe that's why. Anyway, every year, we host a dance on the last day of summer. Monsters come from all over. It's something that we've been doing for hundreds of years." Asriel talked animatedly. "It's really fun!"

She nodded, taking his word for it. With the excitement in his voice, how could it be anything but fun? And maybe the dance lessons her aunt made her take would finally come in handy. It was just ballroom dancing, but finally getting to dance and with a partner might be fun.

"I was hoping you could ask Chara for one dance?" Asriel looked away sheepishly. Frisk almost spit out her drink. Were they still hoping for a magical romance between the two of them? If this was a romance novel, it may happen, but this was real life, and real-life Frisk hated real life Chara. Asriel looked back at her and his eyes widened, probably seeing the surprise on her face.

"Oh! I don't mean it like _that._ " He said quickly. She wouldn't have blamed him for wanting them to fall in love with Chara and break the barrier with their magical kiss of true love. "It's just… I'm sure you've noticed… Chara is kind of a loner, and he doesn't make it easy to be friends with him." He fiddled with the hem of his shorts. "I was hoping maybe he would want to spend time with you if you showed him your true self… I'm sure being the only human here was lonely for him… I want him to have one friend that isn't me." He gave her a sheepish smile.

"My true self?" She sputtered slightly. He laughed at that.

"Oh yeah, it was very obvious you were holding yourself in before… y'know…" He didn't want to bring up those couple of days when she had panicked and locked herself away. She laughed softly at that. So, it had been that obvious, then? Or maybe Asriel was just really good at reading people? She hoped that was it.

"Okay, just for you, I'll ask him." She watched as Asriel's face lit up.

"Wonderful!"

"Asriel, can I ask you something?" She asked, finishing her glass of lemonade. The taste had grown on her after all.

"Of course." He smiled at her.

"Maybe it's a stupid question but…" She paused, and he shook his head, urging her to continue. "How did the barrier come into place? I know there was a war but… why was there a war? What happened?"

Asriel looked thoughtful.

"I could explain it to you, but there's a children's book about it. Kind of morbid, I know, but it's a fantastic book. I'll ask the librarian to send you a copy. Of course, some events may not have happened as they did in the book, but it's a good story." He explained. Her heart faltered slightly. No one was giving her a straight forward answer, but at least he was offering to help explain it to her.

"Thanks." She smiled at him and looked at her watch. "I think it's time I go. I have to finish my surprise for Sans before he gets off work."

Asriel laughed- no, giggled- at that.

"Let me know how it goes. I'm sure he'll be starry-eyed when he sees it." He grinned and over dramatically winked at her. She laughed.

"I'll make sure to tell you." She assured him.

* * *

Sans had been watching the clock tick by the entire day. Saying he was a nervous wreck about this "sleepover" was an understatement. Not only was it with the girl he admired, but it would also be the first time he had been away from Papyrus since… since their mother had passed. He had gone over his checklist with Papyrus at least three times a day since he had agreed to help Frisk rise in rank on UnderLook. Papyrus seemed to be excited at the prospect of having the house to himself for the night. He was also more responsible than Sans despite being younger, but Sans was still worried.

He hadn't seen Frisk much in the past week. It seemed that Asriel was occupying her time in the afternoons, so she didn't have to bum at the lab and pretend to help him with his work. She did make sure to stop by the lab in the mornings to say hi to him and Alphys, sometimes bringing random concoctions she had made in the kitchen with Muffet's help. Sometimes she brought them lattes and sometimes muffins or cookies, depending on the time. She really had been serious about trying everything that she could. She never stayed long, saying she didn't want to take away from their work. But every time she left, Alphys always gave him a look, and sometimes a few words.

Today, Frisk had brought breakfast pastries and when she left she had called to him,

"See you tonight!"

Before leaving his back room where he and Alphys ate their treats away from everyone else. Alphys had given him a look and as she opened her mouth, he stopped her.

"We're uh… having an all-nighter playing video games. She wants me to help her climb the ranks in a game…" He looked down, hoping Alphys hadn't noticed the look in his eyes. From the "aw" she issued, he knew she had seen it.

"So, it's a date." Alphys wiggled her brows at Sans. He coughed, almost choking on bread.

"What? No, it's really not." Sans wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The problem with not having lips, or real lips rather, was that gooey food like this would get all over him.

"Are you sure? It looks like it is." There was teasing in Alphys's voice. She only seemed not to stutter when she was talking about anime and now, Sans's nonexistent love live.

"I'm positive. She doesn't like me like that." He shook his head. Alphys arched an eyebrow.

"What's this?" She gestured to their food and coffee.

"Uh, food? You ever seen it before?" He laughed. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"No! Everyday she's been bringing stuff for you. Coffee, cookies, whatever." She sighed again.

"She brings some for you too." He noted, motioning to the crumbs on her lab coat. She rolled her eyes again.

"I'm just an afterthought. It's for you, Sans. She's making up excuses to see you." She put a hand on her cheek and sighed longingly. "It wouldn't be a good story unless one of you was in denial… I ship it anyway…"

"Ship?" He asked, then shook his head. He didn't want to know. "You're making it up. I'm just her closest friend here. That's it."

Alphys sighed again.

"Whatever you say. Never say I didn't tell you so."

Sans broke his inner review of today's Alphys moment to look at the clock again. Five more minutes. He stood and began putting his things away and doing his routine checks of his space. He finished in record time because when he checked his watch, he still had one more minute left. He groaned. He still needed to catch Papyrus before he left to go home to make sure he went over the checklist one more time. The seconds dragged on.

There was a knock at the door. He blinked. It must have been Alphys again.

"Come in." He said, spinning around on his stool to greet his friend.

"Hi, Sans." The queen said, smiling at him as she entered the room. He blinked.

"T-Tori?" He asked, still surprised.

"Expecting someone else?" She laughed softly. He eased a bit and laughed too.

"What can I help you with?" He asked as she took a seat next to him.

"Well, I know you're… ah, having a sleepover with Frisk tonight and I just wanted to go over some ground rules." She was smiling, but he could tell she was quite serious. Suddenly, his anxiety increased, even though he thought it had peaked about an hour ago.

"Shoot." He tried smiling back at her.

"I know that you and Frisk are grown, but, she's still in my charge. So… no sleeping in the bed with her. In fact, don't share a sleeping space at all. No going through her things if she steps out. I want at least a foot between you two at all times. No funny business. Punny business is fine, but nothing sly." Her face had gone from a smile to one of her well-known, stern looks.

"T-Tori… you know me. I would never try anything." He said quickly, holding up his hands up.

She sighed.

"I trust you, Sans. I do. I'm just… so worried about her, and you seem to be the only one she's really attached to. I don't want her to get hurt." She frowned. "She's been hurt enough."

"I would never hurt her. I-" He stopped himself. He what? Was he going to tell Toriel that he had cared for her before he even knew her name? Before he knew what she looked like? When she was basically just a crazy girl with the mouth of a sailor he had met online?

Toriel looked at him for a long moment before her face slacked in understanding.

"Oh. Oh Sans…" She cooed, then caught herself and glowered at him. "So I do have to worry about you."

That got the heat rising to Sans's cheeks.

"N-No! It's not like that. She doesn't like me." He assured his friend and queen. She studied him for a moment, her eyebrow arched. She could see her contemplating something, but he wasn't sure what.

"Okay. I trust you. Just maybe…" She looked at him slyly. "Wish upon a star tonight. I think your wish came true if you do. Tonight's a good night for stargazing."

Sans frowned slightly. Stars? Toriel knew they couldn't see the stars. What was she getting at?

"O-Okay…" He looked at her quizzically as she laughed at him. She looked at the clock.

"It looks like it's the end of the day. You better get going. You wouldn't want to leave your damsel in distress while she waits for you, do you?" She teased. His face heated even more. First Alphys, now Toriel. Too bad he wasn't wearing his hoodie, or else he would have hidden in his hood by now.

She laughed again as she stood.

"I really do wish you the best of luck, Sans. And remember," She frowned at him. "Follow my rules." She smiled once more before waving and letting herself out of the lab.

Sans took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as he walked to the corner where he had piled his things. Now Toriel knew about his crush on Frisk. Was he that easy to read, or were Alphys and Toriel just able to see through him? He knew Alphys liked to see things that weren't there, but Toriel as well? He shook his head. He needed to catch up to Papyrus before he left for home.

He hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders before turning off the light and shutting the door behind him. Luckily, he was good at shortcuts.

In a blink, he was outside the door to the kitchens just as the staff were exiting.

"Papyrus!" He shouted and waved as his brother exited the kitchen.

"BROTHER!" Papyrus came to him, wearing his usual smile.

"Do you remember what I-" Sans started, but a roll from Papyrus's eyes cut him off.

"I KNOW, I KNOW. DON'T ANSWER THE DOOR UNLESS I'M EXPECTING SOMEONE, FIRE EXTINGUISHER IS UNDER THE SINK." The younger skeleton crossed his arms.

"And…" Sans urged.

"AND…" Papyrus knitted his brows together. "NO JUMPING THROUGH WINDOWS. THAT WAS ONE TIME, BROTHER."

"Once was enough. And remember to call me if you need anything. And I mean, ANYTHING. I'll come home as soon as I can."

"SANS." Papyrus stopped him, shaking his head. "YOU HAVEN'T HAD A REAL FRIEND FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM GOING TO BE FINE, BUT I WILL BE UPSET IF YOU WORRY ABOUT ME ALL NIGHT. SO PLEASE, HAVE FUN." He smiled at him.

"BESIDES, I INVITED UNDYNE OVER TO GIVE ME SPECIAL TRAINING."

Sans frowned. He wasn't sure if he should feel better that Undyne would be keeping an eye on his brother, or worried that the two of them were going to be alone in their house. Both of them had a bit of trouble knowing when something was "too much." He really hoped his and Papyrus's house didn't burn down while he was gone. He managed to smile at his brother.

"That's great. And remember to feed Toby at six." Sans gave his final order.

"I DIDN'T KNOW THE DOG HAD A NAME." Papyrus shrugged. He wasn't very fond of dogs, yet he seemed to attract them. Quite a few hung around their house back in Snowdin.

"Good night, Pap." Sans waved slightly, wanting his brother to get home before sunset, which was coming earlier and earlier as autumn was approaching. Their trip home could be quite lengthy if traffic was heavy.

"GOOD NIGHT, SANS. HAVE A GOOD TIME." Papyrus returned the wave and headed down the corridor.

Sans watched him go, still worried. Papyrus had just graduated from high school the past May, and he knew his brother was eager to do "adult" things, like spend a night alone in their house, but Sans couldn't help but worry. He was a bit sad that his baby brother was growing up, he had to admit. This was just another example of how mature his brother had become.

When he was sure that Papyrus was on his way home, Sans teleported himself to the hall where Frisk's room was located. He took a deep breath, thinking up reasons he should skip out on the "sleepover". He really _did_ want to spend time with Frisk. But he was a nervous wreck and his flight or fight instinct was telling him _flight_. Never mind that fleeing would probably ruin his chances forever. Or so he told himself.

He took another deep breath and let it out slowly. He could do this. He began walking towards the door. _Just one foot in front of the other, Sansy…_ After what felt like a marathon, he was in front of the door. He raised his hand, and one… two…

The door opened.

"AH!" Frisk cried and jumped back slightly, realizing she had almost run face first into him. When she saw who it was, she moved back, blocking the room from view.

"Oh, hey Sans." She smiled at him and his stomach flipped. She was wearing what he could best describe as a cape that went around her shoulders and buttoned at her chest. Attached to it was a hood, that she had up, which resembled a polar bear. "I was wondering where you were."

He blushed sheepishly.

"I was just checking on Papyrus before he left." He tried to see around the human, put she moved every time he moved his eyes. "Nice… polar bear?" He looked back to her.

"Thanks. It's lucky. I always win when I play with it on." She smirked. "You bring your stuff?" She eyed his backpack.

"Yep. Just bringing my laptop." He shrugged. There was no way he was commuting with his entire rig.

She squinted, then relaxed back into a smile.

"Okay, um…" Was that a blush he spotted on her cheeks. Her hands were fidgeting with the edge of her cape. "Come in…" She moved aside and held the door open for him and he stepped in.

What Sans noticed first was how dim it was. The windows were shut tight and covered so that the waning sunlight couldn't get in. There were a few lamps placed around the room, and each one was covered with a dark-colored blanket to dim the light.

"Frisk?" He asked. Was this supposed to be some kind of romantic atmosphere? Or had Alphys really gotten to him? She smiled and pointed up. He followed her gesture and looked up at the ceiling. Hanging from pieces of yarn that were taped to the ceiling were stars that had been cut out of paper and assaulted with glitter. Each one was a different shape, and as they spun, they glittered in the dim light. He looked back at his friend. She was smiling, seemingly pleased with his reaction.

"I know they're not the real stars, but I thought we could at least stargaze on these." She was fidgeting again, looking at her feet. Was she embarrassed? "Oh! But there's another part!"

She gently grabbed his hand and pulled him to the center of the room where a blanket had been placed on the floor.

"Go on, lay down." She urged. He reluctantly let go of her hand and dropped his things down on the floor before crawling and laying down on his back on top of the blanket. Once he had settled, she sat down next to him and laid down as well.

"Okay, look up again." She said. He could hear the eagerness in her voice. He smiled and looked back to the ceiling. It took him a moment and a few squints, but he finally saw it.

"You… You made constellations?" He asked. This whole experience had been overwhelming, but in a good way. She had put this much time and effort into a surprise for him? He felt like she had personally punched him (lovingly) in the gut and made him breathless.

"Yeah. It wouldn't be a real stargazing experience without constellations, right?" She asked, and he could feel her eyes on him. He refused to look back, knowing that if he did, he might do something stupid. Like confess. Or kiss her. Or both. He guessed this was what Tori had meant when she told him to wish upon a star.

"This is amazing, Frisk." He realized they weren't one foot apart, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He had sat down first, so this was on Frisk, right? "But… why?"

"Why?" Frisk answered.

"Why did you do this?" He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. Or did he?

There was a pause. Then she laughed softly.

"I wanted to do something for you. It's embarrassing to admit, but, you're my first real friend. Ever. I didn't really have friends back home, except for you. And when I got here, even though you didn't know it was me, you were still nice to me. You've helped me so much without realizing it. I… I don't think I'm going to be able to destroy the barrier." She carried a sad lilt in her voice. "But I can do this."

Sans was flushing. He could feel it and he hoped Frisk wouldn't notice. He was speechless. He didn't think what he had done warranted something as spectacular or as thoughtful as this. He was just being nice. And a good friend.

"Thanks." He finally said, eyes still trained on the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Frisk finally turn her head to look up at the ceiling. He was relieved that she wasn't staring at him anymore. Now he could scream internally without the fear that his face would give it away. This was one of the nicest things that anyone had done for him. Maybe she did have feelings for him… Maybe Alphys was right in her own, crazy way. Or maybe Frisk was just a good friend. A really good friend that he shouldn't hurt by having feelings for her. What if he ruined their friendship somehow? He tried to shake the thoughts from his mind. Couldn't he just enjoy the moment in peace?

"You should make a wish. I couldn't figure out how to do a shooting star, so just pick one and wish on it." He could hear the smile in her voice. Even though he felt strange and unsure of himself in this situation, he was glad she sounded happy. She could do embarrassing, but sweet, things like this for him all she wanted if it made her happy.

"Any of them?" He asked. He looked from star to star.

"Technically, it's supposed to be the first one you see." He felt her shrug. "I think it's okay to improvise in this case."

"I'm not sure what I would wish for…" He said thoughtfully. Well, he knew what he wanted to wish for. He didn't want to say it out loud, though.

"I think you should wish…" She paused, and he could hear the smirk in her voice. "For Toriel to dance with you at the end of summer dance."

"What?" He finally turned his head to really look at her. The look she was giving him was indiscernible to him.

"Why would I wish for that?" He frowned, totally confused. He watched her smirk disappear into a confused frown to match his own. He guessed she wasn't getting the reaction she wanted.

"Um… because you like her? Like… REALLY like her?" She propped herself up on an elbow, so she could look at him better.

He blinked, then burst out laughing.

"What? You think I have a crush on her?" He couldn't stop his laughter. His heightened emotional state spilled out of him in bubbles of laughter. His anxiety, his wonderment, his love, and now… his confusion, couldn't be contained. He was overflowing.

"U-um… yeah?" She asked before joining him in laughter. "I guess that you don't have a crush on her?"

He rubbed the hem of his sleeve over his forehead, trying to reel himself back in.

"N-no. She's old enough to be my mom… AND she's married." Sans laughed again. Well, Frisk wasn't as deft at picking up on romantic feelings as Alphys was. At least now he had an answer. If Frisk liked him, why would she think he liked Toriel?

Frisk let out another laugh.

"Whoops. I guess I misread that." She laid back down.

"Yeah, really badly too." Sans gave out a final laugh. "I think I'm going to… wish for someone to ask Papyrus to the dance."

Frisk was quiet for a moment.

"Why would you wish for that?" She asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Papyrus has always wanted to go with someone. But everyone he asked either said 'no' or already had someone they were going with. He'd be so upset that he didn't even want to go anymore." Sans didn't want to ruin the mood with his brother's sob story, but she had asked, and he answered.

"He's really cool, and awesome, so I don't get it." He continued. "He tries his best at everything he does and he's nice to everyone. But I think I'm biased."

"You love him a lot, huh?" She asked.

"Heh. Yeah. He's all I've got." He paused. He didn't really want to go into his 'damaged' past, and she seemed to pick up on it and didn't ask. They were silent for a moment before he heard the clack of fingers on a phone screen. Before he could ask, she spoke up.

"All right. It's done." She said.

"What's done?" He rolled on his side so that he could look at her.

"I asked your brother to the dance. I'm supposed to at least dance with Chara, but I don't have to _go_ with him." She looked triumphant. Was this the face she made when she won on UnderLook? He wanted to bask in how cute it was, but he couldn't.

Firstly, she was supposed to dance with Chara? Was the royal family still pushing that? Did he still have a rival in that little shit of a prince? Secondly, she asked his _brother_ to the dance? He knew how his brother was going to react, and he wasn't ready for it. In addition, now _he_ couldn't ask _her_ to the dance, if he had ever mustered up the courage to do so. Thirdly, she had a cell phone that he didn't have the number to, but his brother did? He wasn't sure how to process any of this, so he asked the most important question first.

"When did you get Papyrus's number?"

She laughed and smiled at him.

"When? We work in the kitchen together every morning, and we also workout in the morning together." She turned her head to look at him. "Did you forget?"

He tried not to blush. He had. She clicked on her phone again before passing it to him.

"Put your number in there too. Toriel only gave it to me a few days ago. My old phone doesn't work here."

Sans took her phone and quickly typed his information in before handing it back to her. Seconds later he received a text.

"And now you have mine-" She stopped as her phone chimed. "Aw! He accepted!" She grinned at him. "Your wish came true."

"Heh, yeah… Lucky me." Sans tried not to groan.

"Ready to play?" She asked. He looked surprised.

"So, you didn't just lure me here for the stars under the pretense of gaming?" He asked, letting out a soft chuckle himself.

"Of course not. UnderLook is very serious, Sans. I have to git gud if I'm going to become a professional." She sat up, adjusting her polar bear hood back into position.

"Professional? When did you decide to go pro?" He asked, sitting up as well.

"If I had to pick a dream career, I would pick to be a professional gamer. I never got to think about what I wanted to be when I grew up, since I was always supposed to just marry and bring peace to the nations, y'know. So, if I'm going to work towards something, this is it." She grinned at him.

"So, get your stuff out. We have a lot of work to do tonight."

* * *

"Fuck me in the ass." Frisk huffed as she practically threw her headset off and across the room. They had lost. She tried not to put the blame on the others, really, she did, but their teammates couldn't even get on the point. Her and Sans had carried for as long as they could. Ultimately, they lost.

She looked over to where Sans was sitting on the couch, his laptop on her little table. He was giving her a strange look that she couldn't read. And she thought she had been getting better at reading him.

"What? You've heard me say worse." She pushed back her chair and stretched.

"It's weird to see it coming out of your mouth. You look so…" He paused and looked her up and down. She tried to wrap herself in her cape better. "Proper. Except for the polar bear."

"You can thank my aunt for that." She grumbled, walking over to the couch and throwing herself down next to her friend. They needed a break. They had been playing for hours straight.

"Guess the lucky polar bear isn't working tonight." Sans teased. She was glad he seemed more at ease as the night went on. When she had almost ran into him at the door, he had looked very tense. But he seemed to have enjoyed her little surprise, and she had been able to make his wish come true.

"Screw you, it works just fine. It's because you don't have a polar bear." She paused. "Wait, I still have some construction paper." She moved over to her vanity, briefly glancing at the emerald pendant dangling off the side of the mirror. She hadn't worn it since Sans had suggested to take it off. She still hadn't exhibited any supernatural powers.

She cut out two circles from some of the leftover white paper, grabbed the roll of tape, and headed back to the couch.

Sans eyed her warily.

"What are you…?" He didn't get to answer before she went to work. After a few moments she had successfully taped the paper to Sans's skull so that he had two half-moons sticking up. She stepped back and laughed.

"Now you're a polar bear too." She couldn't stop herself from laughing. He looked ridiculous.

Sans reached a hand up and gently fingered the paper ears.

"Really?" He asked, a frown in his voice. Between laughs she nodded. "I guess there's **SNOW** point in arguing. I just gotta **BEAR** with it if we wanna win."

Frisk giggled again. So, there were the terrible puns Asriel had talked about. She didn't _want_ to laugh, but she couldn't stop herself. He looked silly with those fake ears taped to his head, and she was so happy that he was actually making puns around her that she was overwhelmed.

"You're such a bar **BEAR** ian, Frisk. Making me wear these things. It's animal abuse." He seemed to be enjoying himself as well. She snorted through her laughter. He seemed surprised but took it as encouragement to keep going.

"Really Frisk, you're em **BEAR** assing me. This is un **BEAR** able! It's **BEARY** degrading." He gently flicked the ears to make his point. One of them fell off. He blinked. "I've been poached!"

While laughing, she bent down and picked up the lost ear and put it back in its rightful place on top of Sans's head.

"Stop touching them." She scored as she smoothed the tape down. She had never really thought about it before, but it was kind of weird to be touching bone that was… still alive. She tried to push the thought away again. No need to follow that wild hair.

When she was satisfied that the ear was secured properly, she sat down next to Sans and pulled out her phone. She leaned into Sans so closely that their cheeks were almost touching.

"Okay, say 'penguin'!" She instructed before giving the camera a giant smile. She watched Sans from the screen. It seemed to take him a minute to register that they were taking a picture. He looked surprised, then finally he smiled and held up a peace sign. _Cute…_ She thought.

"Penguins!" He chimed, and she snapped the photo.

She pulled away slightly as she checked the photo on her phone.

"Aw, we make cute polar bears." She said and offered her phone to Sans, so he could take a look at it.

"Heh. I only see one cute polar bear in the picture. I don't know who that bum is on the right." He handed it back to her. She paused slightly, wondering if this was flirting, or self-deprecation? She honestly couldn't tell.

"You make a damn cute polar bear, Sans." She said forcefully and quickly snapped his hand away as he moved to pull the ears off. "And don't you dare take the ears off. I was serious about winning tonight."

Sans gave her a sheepish look.

"Can I please take them off?" He asked shyly. She could even see that small, slightly endearing, blue blush spreading across his cheek.

"Not until we win five games." She said. He seemed relieved.

"In a row." She could see it in his eyes. He knew he probably wasn't taking those ears off for the rest of the night.

* * *

A/N: Sorry that this is late! But I think it was worth it. (Maybe?) Please forgive me for any typos. I was too lazy to edit. Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

"YOU'RE JOINING US THIS MORNING, BROTHER?!"

Sans watched his brother's face shift from amusement into bewilderment. He agreed that it was odd for him to follow Papyrus to the training field when Monday morning came around. However, he couldn't let his brother get all of Frisk's time while he crawled under his desk in the lab and squeezed in a few more minutes of sleep before the day began. Besides, watching them workout would surely be amusing.

"Not joining. Just observing." Sans corrected as they walked into the recreation center of the castle. Maybe he could ask Frisk to bring him some coffee later.

"SUIT YOURSELF. IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR YOU TO JOIN US. YOU NEED TO REMEMBER YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH, SANS. PLAYING VIDEO GAMES AND SITTING ALL DAY AREN'T GOOD FOR YOUR BODY." His younger brother huffed as they reached the track.

Undyne and Frisk had already started. They were jogging up and down one side of the track in what he assumed was a warmup. It seemed that Frisk had won over Undyne who wasn't known to be the biggest fan of humans, especially after Prince Chara had gone from sweet to sour. The captain seemed to like having both Frisk and Papyrus under her wing. Maybe it was nice to have two people to torture.

"Hey Sans! Hey Papyrus!" Undyne greeted from the far side of the track. He waved and watched as Frisk perked up and jumped slightly, waving at them.

"HELLO UNDYNE! HELLO HUMAN!" Papyrus called back to them as he set his things down. Sans took a seat on the bench next to his brother's things and yawned. It was going to be a long day.

"Get over here, Pap!" Undyne called and Papyrus started jogging to the other side.

Sans slumped in his seat, trying to keep his eyes open. He wanted to watch them, he really did. But it was so _early_ … And his eyelids were so _heavy_ …

"SANS? …SANS? SANS! WAKE UP YOU LAZYBONES!"

Sans jerked awake. It looked like he had fallen sleep on the bench. Papryus, Undyne, and Frisk were all gathered around him, gazing down. Frisk's face was tinged pink from their workout session.

"Heh. Did I miss the entire workout?" He asked, yawning. Frisk blinked at him.

"Yeah? You were asleep the whole time." She frowned slightly. "But I'm impressed with your ability to fall asleep sitting up with nothing to support yourself on."

"What can I say? It's a gift." He shrugged and stood as Papyrus grabbed his bag so that he could go change. Frisk just scoffed and shook her head.

"I'm still not going to forgive you for falling asleep during our last game Friday night." She huffed.

"It was Saturday _morning_ by then. It's a miracle I didn't fall asleep before then." Sans chucked softly.

"UGH. ENOUGH BANTER. SANS, YOU NEED TO GET GOING IF YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT TO WORK ON TIME. I KNOW HOW SLOW YOU ARE."

"I think Sans can move fast if he wanted to." Undyne smirked at the smaller skeleton, looking between him and Frisk. Great. It looked like Alphys had told Undyne her suspicions. Speaking of Alphys, she was going to have a fit when she heard that Sans had practically talked Frisk into asking Papyrus to the end-of-summer dance.

"NO, HE CAN'T. I'VE NEVER SEEN IT. NOT EVEN FOR KETCHUP." Papyrus crossed his arms. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Frisk trying to hold in a laugh. It was hilarious that he was getting scolded by his younger brother. Hi. Lar. I. Ous.

He pulled his blue comb from his pocket and raked it over his skull a few times.

"Heh. I guess you're right, Pap. Can't leave the old doctor waiting." He turned and winked at Frisk. "Can I be expecting one of your fancy coffees this morning?"

"No can do, Sans." Frisk shook her head softly. "I'm uh… painting with Prince Chara this morning."

If he had guts, he probably would have felt a stab go through them.

"Uh…why?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"SANS! YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MORE TIME. DR. GASTER IS EXPECTING YOU IN FIVE MINUTES." Papyrus intervened. Sans sighed.

"You're right. I'll see you around, princess. Undyne, Pap." He waved as turned and began walking away.

"I'm not a princess!" He heard Frisk calling from behind him.

As soon as he was out of eyesight he teleported into his little room in the lab.

"You're late."

He looked up only to see the one and only W. D. Gaster leaning against one of the desks in the room. The older skeleton was tall, though not quite as tall as Papyrus, thin, and serious-looking. He was intimidating guy, and Sans had no idea why he had chosen him as his personal lab assistant. He and Alphys had scored the same on their application exam, yet the doctor had chosen him out of all the other applicants to help him with his more… secretive projects.

Sans checked his watch.

"I still have two minutes." He shrugged.

"Sans. Chara is already here. If the prince is here that means-"

"Means I'm late." Sans finished.

Gaster sighed and turned around. Sans could tell he wasn't in the mood for any of his shenanigans. The doctor ran a finger down the wall and a door appeared.

"Come on, Sans. We have a lot of work to get done today." Gaster stepped in with Sans on his heels.

They walked down a series of stairs, deeper into the ground beneath the castle. The temperature steadily fell, and Sans was reminded that he hadn't worn his usual sweater today. He had been too distracted by the thought of seeing Frisk first thing in the morning to remember he had his special research with Gaster today.

When they finally entered the chamber, Chara was already sitting in his usual chair next to the extraction machine. He was gazing at the ceiling, a bored expression on his face. Extracting what they needed never took too long. They had to do it before Chara was wanted at the breakfast table that Toriel insisted setting every morning. Frisk even had to continue to eat with the Dreemurrs. If nothing happened between her and Chara, Sans wouldn't be surprised if Asgore and Toriel decided to adopt her into their fold as well.

Gaster moved to the control panel and began setting up. Sans went to the small tray sitting next to Chara where his instruments were already set up. Looks like he really was late if Gaster had time to prepare his things for him. He was probably going to get scolded when the prince left.

"Good morning, prince." Sans greeted as he readied the IV needle.

"Good morning, comedian." Chara didn't look at him. And that was fine with him. Those red eyes of his were… unsettling. When they had first started the experiments, Chara's eyes had been a more… natural color. Slowly they changed colors. It was so subtle that most of the inhabitants of the castle didn't notice. As time went on, they grew more vibrant. It wouldn't be long before monsters really did notice. He almost felt bad for the prince. Almost.

Before he could ask, Chara lifted his hand and extended it to the skeleton. Sans took it and wiped the top with an alcohol pad before inserting the IV. He moved to Chara's opposite side and did the same, only this tube was empty. He added a third needle into the crook of Chara's elbow. Even if Chara was a little shit, it was still hard to hook him up like this.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready." Chara sighed.

"We're ready, Doctor." Sans called and stepped back.

"One…" Gaster began. "Two… Three." He flipped the switch.

Chara visibly jumped at the power of the machine jolted into him. It was always this way. So much pain for only a small amount of Determination.

Sans watched as the substance flowed through one of the empty tubes into a fluids bag that had been set up to catch it. Just like giving blood. Chara gritted his teeth, trying to keep his hands relaxed.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

The machine shut off.

"There." Gaster sighed contentedly. It looked like they had gotten a good harvest.

Sans quickly moved to unhook Chara from all of the needles and tubes. The prince was sweating and panting from the effort it took to give out Determination. The skeleton grabbed the bag and took it to Gaster while the human recovered.

"Perfect." Gaster inspected the bag before setting it inside the small refrigerator that they had just for this. It looked like they were down to only two bags including the one they had just harvested. He turned to see Chara staring at them.

"Are you going to ask the girl to help?" Chara's eyes were unreadable as he asked.

"No." Gaster said simply as he closed the door. "She's too weak. I knew it as soon as she stepped out of that carriage."

Sans frowned. He was conflicted. He took Gaster's comment as a slight against Frisk, but on the other hand he was more than glad that Gaster was going to leave her alone. He knew if she was asked, Frisk would help. If she knew that her Determination might be the key to setting everyone free, she wouldn't hesitate. Just like Chara hadn't hesitated. And Sans couldn't let her subject herself to this kind of torture.

Chara made a "tsking" sound as he stood, only slightly wobbly.

"Sans, take him back to his room." Gaster waved his dismissal. "And come straight back."

Sans tried to smile at Chara and extended his hand. The prince seemed satisfied with Gaster's answer of leaving Frisk out of this… twisted experiment. Could Chara have been concerned that Frisk was going to be involved? He wasn't sure. No one was ever really sure what Chara was thinking. Sometimes he seemed like he hated monsters, others he surprised everyone and agreed to a ludicrous experiment to extract Determination from his soul to use to break the barrier. From what Sans had heard, Chara was even sour as a kid. What had his life been like before coming to the monster kingdom?

Chara grabbed his hand and Sans teleported them into the prince's chambers. They were rather plain, but cluttered, with all of the books and art supplies littering every surface, including the floor.

"Well, I gotta get back-" Sans started.

"Sans." The prince cut him off. Chara never called him by his name. It was always 'comedian' or 'comic'. Never 'Sans.'

"Yes?"

"You should stay away from Frisk." The prince turned to face him, his expression unreadable, but his voice soft.

"Uh… why?" Sans frowned.

"Just… stay away." Chara looked almost pained as he finished. He gave Sans a small wave, dismissing him.

The skeleton frowned and turned around, teleporting back to the lab. He wasn't sure what to make of Chara's cryptic words, but he wasn't going to make the prince any promises. He liked Frisk too much for that.

"Now that you're back, we can continue with our latest trial." Gaster huffed from, his table back in Sans's regular room filled with human artifacts.

Gaster had already drawn a large dose of Determination for himself from the older bag of Chara's and had set it down in front of himself.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Dr. G?" Sans asked, looking wearily down at the syringe on the tray.

"We're getting nowhere with those half-dead monsters. We need to try something stronger." Gaster sighed, explaining for the umpteenth time his reasoning. Sans was totally against it. He had been against injecting anyone with the substance, but Gaster had wanted to push through. To see what would happen. He even got the blessing of the king, though it wasn't his authority to give such authorization. The experiments were a secret only shared between him, Gaster, Asgore, and Alphys, who took care of those injected.

None of their trials had succeeded. The monsters ended up horribly scarred, binding with the others around them, fusing together into one being. At least Chara had been spared this gruesome detail. All the prince knew is that his Determination was being farmed and was being used to help further the cause of breaking down the barrier. And that was how it needed to stay. Even if Chara was an ass, Sans didn't think he would condone turning monsters into horrific nightmares.

Sans picked up the needle, looking at the measurements.

"Record, Sans." Gaster instructed.

Sans set the syringe back down, pulling his notebook and a pen from his lab coat's pocket. He jotted down the time, the measurement on the syringe, what bag it had been taken from, and anything else Gaster had instructed him to. It was his first time recording the notes himself. Usually he was administering the Determination while Gaster took the notes. Today, he was doing both.

He finally set his notes down and picked up the syringe again.

"Ready?" He asked his mentor.

"I'm ready." Gaster rolled up his sleeve, exposing the bone.

Sans grimaced before pushing the needle into his arm, deep into the marrow.

"Here it comes."

* * *

"You have a studio?" Frisk asked as she glanced around the room. It was a large room that was lined with large windows on one side, and white sheets laying across the floor. There were a few easels already set up with canvases perched on them. Finished paintings had been leaned against the walls.

"It's not 'mine' but I'm the only one who really uses it." Chara grumbled as he prepared the paints they were going to be using. Frisk had been shocked when the prince had asked her to join him for painting lessons. But when she saw Toriel's face she knew that it was the queen's idea. She knew it wouldn't exactly _hurt_ to try to get to know Chara. She just figured her dislike for him was mutual.

They silent for a few spare moments, the only sound was the clink Chara made as he stirred the paints.

"I didn't know you liked to paint." Frisk tried to fill the emptiness.

"It's hard to know anything about a person when you avoid them." Chara didn't meet her gaze. She frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't think I would notice that you avoid me any chance you get?" Chara laughed sourly. She tensed.

"I…"

"It's because of the Papyrus thing, right? I didn't make a very good impression." The prince set the paints down and turned to face her. He wasn't smiling.

"Um…" She hesitated. "No, you were a real ass."

That got a slight smile out of him.

"If it makes you feel better, Muffet put spiders in my tea later."

"She… She what?" It was hard for Frisk to focus on anything else.

"She does that sometimes when she's mad at someone. It's not the first time I've gotten spiders in my food." Chara shrugged.

"You should apologize to him." Frisk huffed.

"Why? Because he's your boyfriend now?" Chara narrowed his eyes.

"What? No. Because it's the right thing to do." Frisk's frown deepened.

"Mm… I'll think about it." Chara looked at his watch. It seemed that their instructor was running late. Frisk rolled her eyes.

"What I said was true, though. He shouldn't call you 'human.' You wouldn't call him 'monster'. And they WILL get tired of you." He turned back around and stirred the paints, trying to keep them fresh.

"Is that what happened to you?" Frisk blurted before she could stop herself.

There was a pause.

Then Chara shrugged.

"No, they never even wanted me. Asriel was the one who found me when I washed up on shore. Mom and Dad are kind people that they wouldn't be able to kill me." He looked over his shoulder at her.

"Because that's what usually happens when humans wash up on the island. They're killed. Their souls are taken and used to try and destroy the barrier. Monsters hate humans as much as humans hate them." He finished.

She frowned at him.

"You'd know that if anyone had told you anything real about the monster kingdom." Chara shook his head slightly. "A few years after I was adopted by the Dreemurrs, they put a ban on killing humans. Most of the younger monsters don't know what it was like to hate humans that much. The older ones still think all humans are bad and that they should all be killed."

"Is that why you…?" She started, only getting cut off by a nod.

"It's why I never made any friends besides Asriel. The kids were fine with me, but their parents…" He looked down just as the door opened.

"HOI! I'm Temmie! Here to paint!" Came the call from a small, cat-like creature. Frisk looked down at her, and she seemed to vibrate more intensely.

"HOI Princess! HOI Cute human!" She seemed to shake more as she looked at the two of them.

"N-Nice to meet you, Temmie." Frisk smiled

"HOIII! Paint now!"

* * *

The painting lesson had turned into a day of painting between her and Chara. Unfortunately, Temmie had to leave after their lesson was finished and couldn't stay the whole time. She seemed reluctant to go, but she had other arrangements. Chara took over the instructor role for Frisk, helping her work on less serious paintings that Temmie had instructed them to do.

"And what's this supposed to be again?" Chara asked as he looked over her shoulder at her recent painting.

"It's the mech. I told you this before." She puffed her cheeks out slightly. He was distracting her from the task at hand. She was trying to paint by memory. It wasn't going so well.

"From the game? Overcooked?"

"You know damn well what it's called. Stop trying to mess me up." She huffed.

"I think you're doing that well on your own." Chara gave a soft laugh. She was glad he had loosened up around her. Maybe Asriel was right. Maybe he did just need to see her 'real' persona.

"Asshole."

"What's the deal with it again?"

She sighed.

"It's a mech, piloted by an artist. He's a super famous street artist, but no one's ever seen his face. Even when his mech is destroyed and he ejects from it, there's always a conveniently placed object in front of his face. It makes it really hard to beat the pilot because his hit box is always covered by something. He attacks with a giant paintbrush and-"

"And his mech vomits and you can use it to kill a bunch of people. I remember that part."

"See? You were listening." She gently ran a finger down the mech's side, smudging the paint. "I think it's done."

Frisk stood and took a step back, tilting her head as she looked at her last painting for the day.

"It's not… terrible." Chara offered.

"It's not good either." She frowned, then laughed. "Today was really fun. Thanks, Chara."

Chara looked over at her and frowned, then his face relaxed. It wasn't quite a smile, but it wasn't a look of distaste either.

"You're welcome… Frisk." He seemed uncomfortable. She took it as her cue.

"Let's wash these up and call it a day." Frisk raised her brushed. He promptly plucked them from her hands.

"I'll wash them and you can head out of here. I like them to be washed a certain way, and it's easier to do it myself than teaching someone else to wash them." He shrugged.

"O-okay. If you're sure." She smiled and he nodded. "I'll see you at dinner." She gave him a slight wave before leaving the room. She was speckled in paint, but she thought it had been well worth getting her favorite blouse dirty for. While she still couldn't see herself falling in love with Chara, it was nice to know he wasn't a terrible person. Broken, maybe, but not _bad_.

Speaking of people she could see herself falling in love with, she pulled out her phone and took a quick selfie of her in her ruined clothing and sent it off to Sans. She felt slightly bad that she hadn't been able to take Sans the coffee that he had seemed to be looking forward to. And she certainly wasn't about to wander into the lab after Alphys had told her that Gaster was there today. She hadn't formally met the man, but he seemed intimidating and like the kind of guy that wouldn't like for a human to come into his lab and distract his employees.

Her phone dinged.

' _Heh. Looks like you got into a fight with a paintbrush.'_ Sans wrote back.

' _I won.'_ She sent off before stepping into her bedroom.

On the small table in front of her couch was a small parcel. She quickly unwrapped it, revealing a children's book inside.

"Star-Crossed: The Tale of Us." She read the title aloud. So, this must be the children's book that Asriel had told her he would send for. She would have to thank him the next time she saw him. She took a seat on the chaise and opened the book.

 _Once upon a time,_ The book began.

 _Once upon a time, monsters and humans lived in harmony on the mainland._

 _But the humans were greedy and kept taking and taking from the monsters. The monsters were tired of being taken advantage of, so they moved away and formed their own community away from humans._

 _The humans found the monsters' new home, but they left the monsters alone._

 _Among the monsters lived a beautiful monster. She was the prettiest monster anyone had ever seen. She was kind and gently, and everyone loved her._

 _One night, as the monsters gathered around a bonfire to dance, the beautiful monster was watched from the shadows by a human man who had disguised himself as a monster. He fell in love with her instantly._

 _The human man approached the beautiful monster and they danced the entire night together. She fell in love with him that night._

 _At the end of the night, the human revealed himself to his love. She accepted him even though he was a human man. They continued to see each other in secret._

 _The monster's friends became suspicious of her. One night, they followed her only to find her in the arms of a human! They confronted her and took her away from the human man. They let the human man leave peacefully._

 _But the human man was upset. He went to his elders and complained of what the monsters had done. This made the other humans very angry! They attacked the peaceful monster village and burned every home to the ground._

 _The humans started a war on all of monster kind. They would attack every village they came across and leave nothing behind._

 _One day, the human elders gave the monsters a choice: they could all perish, or they could retreat to an island far off the coast of any known human land. The monsters left for the island, but once they landed, the humans cast a spell that trapped the monsters on the island._

 _After seeing all the pain and destruction her love for a human caused, the beautiful monster wept and wept until Waterfall was created on the island. She never finished weeping, and her sobs can still be heard today._

 _No one knows what happened to the human man. Many believe that he was the one behind the attacks on the monster villages, feeling deep hatred for the monsters who took his love away._

Frisk flipped through the pages, running her fingertips over the carefully drawn pictures in the book. Somehow, the story felt familiar to her. She tried to think of any human fairytales that might have been close. There was Romeo and Juliet, and star-crossed lovers were common in stories. She must have been drawing connections between other stories and this one. But if this story was true, it was rather tragic. The monsters suffered this fate because two people fell love? Maybe that was why they believed that two lovers could break the spell. If that were true, couldn't any monster couple have broken it before?

She sighed and glanced over at her vanity where her emerald pendant still hung off the corner. Her eyes drifted from the necklace to her own face. She looked so much like her aunt. The slender nose, her brown hair, even her eyes and that squint she got sometimes. The light shifted and for a fraction of a second, Frisk was gazing at the face of a boy about her age. Then, it was gone.

Must have just been a trick of the light.

* * *

A/N: Finally, we have Temmie. And some plot, I guess. ^.^ Thanks for reading!

And to a user called Boxy: I can't reply to you personally, but just know I see your comments and they fill me with DETERMINATION!

(All of your comments do! Thank you guys for being so great!)


	8. Chapter 8

_Everyone was dancing, the sound of laughter punctuating the silence between musical numbers. The monsters were all gathered in the town's square, wearing intricate masks and other disguises. Frisk was looking out from a mask that she intrinsically knew was supposed to be a raven. When she looked down, she saw she was dressed completely in black, in a man's suit. Her disguise was deliberate, she knew, because no one here could really know what she was…_

 **RING RING**

Frisk groaned, turning onto her back and rubbing her eyes. It took her a few more seconds before turning off her phone's alarm. Every night for the past few days, she had been having that same, strange dream. It was the same scene, just replayed over and over again, every night. She hadn't rested well since she had started having the dream. It was starting to frustrate her. She had always been a morning person, but every day it got harder and harder to get up for her workouts with Undyne and Papyrus.

Undyne had taken one look at her the past morning and told her to go back to bed and not come back to training until she had a good night's rest. That was proving to be difficult for the human.

 _A lone dancer stood out of the crowd to her, a girl, twirling in a flowing dress, her face painted with sunflowers._

Frisk's eyes opened again, and she groaned. She looked at the clock.

"Shit! I'm late!" She cried as she shot up in bed. Toriel was very strict about having breakfast together, and she didn't want to offend the queen by being late.

…Now she was already thirty minutes late.

She hopped out of her covers and headed towards the bathroom to brush her hair. It was Saturday, so Imelda had the day off and thus Frisk was left in charge of her own appearance. Before she reached the door she spotted a tray on her small table with a note. She stopped to read it.

 _I thought you could use the rest, so I let you sleep in. I hope you start feeling better soon._

 _Love,_

 _Toriel_

 _P.S. The seamstress is coming at one. Make sure to be in my office on the dot!_

Frisk sighed in relief, then smiled. Toriel really was a mother at heart. Maybe that's why she made such a good queen. Her entire country was her child. She peeked over at the tray. It was French toast with fresh, sliced strawberries and copious amounts of powdered sugar, just like she liked it. There was even black coffee and maple syrup in its own pouring dish.

When she lived with her aunt and uncle, she had always felt extremely spoiled. Here, she was spoiled, but in a different way. She felt… loved. She felt loved from her aunt and uncle, but they would have never remembered that she LOVED sugar on everything – except coffee. At least not without her telling them.

She poured the syrup over her toast, frowning. She still hadn't forgiven her aunt for lying to her. And the more she thought about it, the more she knew that her aunt had manipulated her uncle as well. She wasn't sure she should be mad at a dead woman, but that didn't stop her from feeling… used.

She stood suddenly and went to her closet, digging for a moment before bringing out the box of photographs her uncle had given her before she left. She set it next to her on the couch before going back to her breakfast.

With her free hand, she pulled out her phone, blinking when she saw a text from Sans. It was still a bit early for the skeleton…

 _Good morning princess._

She felt a blush creeping up on her cheeks. There was no denying it to herself anymore: she liked Sans. She _liked_ him. And she felt terrible about it. If she was going to free the monsters, shouldn't she be falling in love with Chara? She would need to break the barrier if she was going to show Sans the stars… but the only person she wanted to go stargazing with was Sans. It was an endless loop that she couldn't see any way out of.

 _Isn't it too early for you?_

 _And don't call me princess._

She sliced into one of her pieces of toasts, making sure to get a piece of strawberry. She looked back to the box of photos. She didn't expect to find much in there. Maybe some pictures of her aunt and uncle when they were younger. Possibly some pictures of her mom and grandmother.

She shoved a few pieces of toast in her mouth before pulling the top of the box off. Her phone dinged.

 _Isn't it too late for you, PRINCESS?_

Frisk grumbled. It looked like her nickname was going to stay with Sans.

 _Whatever, FUCKFACE._

She turned her attention to the box of photos again. She buried her fingers into the stacks, feeling around until she touched one she liked. She pulled it out of the box and held it close to her face, inspecting it closely. She smiled.

It was her uncle and his brothers next to a pool, all of them in silly-looking bathing suits. She flipped it over, reading the words on the back.

' _Frank, Richard, Isaac, Samuel, and Kennedy, 1951'_

She stared at her uncle's young face, her heart aching heavily in her chest. She hadn't realized until now how much she missed him. She felt bad, too, for not worrying about him more. She hadn't heard from him since she arrived, but Toriel assured her a ship with mail was coming soon. Frisk had already written a letter to be handed off, but she thought she might rewrite it now. So much had happened. She would have time later today.

 **Ding.**

She picked up her phone. Sans was really in a texting mood today.

 _MISS HUMAN FRISK, WHAT COLOR IS YOUR DRESS?_

Oh, it was Papyrus.

 _Not sure yet. I should know this afternoon!_

She paused, then added a heart to the end. He must have been trying to figure out his own outfit. Her dreams were trying to sway her to want to go with a raven-theme, but the dark undertone of her nightly dance made her want to do the opposite. Something bright and fun.

She pulled out another photograph. This time it was her grandma and her aunt as children.

' _The girls'_ Was the simple inscription. She tilted her head slightly. It was odd to not see a date. Her great grandmother was usually very meticulous about the dates. She pulled another photo out.

It was a photo she had never seen before. There were three children, posing in front of a grand fireplace. Her grandmother was on one side, a baby that she assumed was her aunt was in the middle, and next to them stood a young boy. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. He looked just like…

She flipped the photograph over.

' _Amelia, Jacqueline, and Chara, 1948'_

Clutching the photograph, she jumped up and slipped on her slippers and rushed to the door. She ran through the halls until she landed in front of a door. She raised her hand, knocking loudly and quickly. The door creaked open.

"Wow, you didn't even change out of your pajamas." Chara smirked at her slightly. She ignored him and instead or responding to his jab, she thrust the picture at him.

"This is a picture of my aunt. Recognize anyone?" She asked, her cheeks heated.

He frowned and leaned in, squinting at the picture. Then his eyes widened, an expression of surprise passing over his features before it was gone.

"I guess you should come in." He moved to the side, letting Frisk into his room. He motioned for her to sit down on one of his plush chairs.

"So, you're Amelia's granddaughter." He sat across from her, folding his arms.

"Are… are you not going to comment on the fact we're related?" Frisk frowned at him. She was running on adrenaline and she felt like she was about to snap.

"I don't know what to say, honestly. I mean… I guess somehow I knew it all along, but it seemed so unlikely that I just tried not to think about it." He shrugged.

She squinted at him. He laughed.

"Amelia used to give me that same look. You look like her. I thought it was just coincidence… But why would Jacqueline send you here? Surely she had known…" He frowned as he thought.

"I think she was a great strategist. She must have figured out you were the kid Toriel was trying to find his parents for. And she used that as a way to get to the royal family." Frisk looked at her hands. She fidgeted with the photograph.

"Did all of you have future sight?" She blurted, looking up at him suddenly.

"I guess as your great uncle I have to explain everything to you, huh?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I have to tell you the truth, I don't remember much, and I wasn't told much. I was just a kid, but I can try to help." He paused.

"From what I remember, our family has some weird magic, but it manifests differently for everyone. And it's usually only passed through the female line, though some males get lucky and get strong powers of their own. I wasn't very lucky. I hardly have any magic at all."

She nodded, making sure to listen intently. She didn't want to miss a thing.

"That's about all I know about magic… Um, if I remember correctly, I think our family was part of the Human-Monster War that ended with them being locked on this island. I think they were even part of the mages that erected the barrier…" He was quiet for a moment.

"…Do you think that my aunt…" Frisk started and their eyes met.

"Do you think she knew? That we were part of the ones who sealed the monsters away? It's possible. That may be why she sent you here. So that there were two of us here. The legend really only says that two strong souls will appear to take down the barrier. Everyone just assumes that because it was two lovers that started the war that it will be two lovers who end it."

She frowned, digesting what he had just told her.

"What do we tell Toriel? …Asgore?" She asked quietly. He shook his head.

"We don't tell them. Not yet. Mom is already upset that you were sent here under false pretenses. We don't have anything to tell them, really. At least if we keep up our charade, we can give them hope. We'll just wait until we have something more to give them."

She nodded.

"So I guess we'll just wait… But what if I never get any magic?" She looked at him. He shrugged.

"Then I guess you'll be like me. A bum." He winked at her.

"You can pick up painting."

* * *

"So, sunflowers, huh?" Sans asked into his mic, his fingers clicking rapidly at his keyboard. His other hand moved his mouse, clicking away.

"I know, I know, sunflowers everywhere! But the seamstress said it was a good theme since the flowers are going to die soon." Frisk sighed into her mic. Even though they were just in quick play, the match was getting heated. It was hard to focus on her conversation with Sans and on the game on her screen. It didn't seem like Sans was having that problem.

"Now I have to work harder on finding him something to wear…" The skeleton sighed playfully. Truthfully, he already had something for Pap to wear.

"Oh, poor baby." Frisk cooed as she knocked out an enemy Bridedestroyer with a quick melee attack.

"Oh, nice one." He remarked, moving his character back to the payload. "I see you're back to playing Ligero."

"I can't leave my girl for long. It just wouldn't be right." Frisk through on her character's invisibility ability and sped off towards the enemy's spawn.

"What are you going to wear to the dance?" She asked after a moment.

"Huh? I'm not going." Sans blocked an incoming attack.

"What?" She gasped, cursing under her breath as one of the enemy teammates walked right through her, detecting her. She had been so caught up in Sans sudden confession that she had slipped up. She quickly hacked the enemy and killed him. "Why not?"

 _I don't want to see you dancing with other guys._ Sans thought gruffly.

"Not really my scene." He shrugged, knowing she couldn't see it.

"I… I was looking forward to seeing you there…" Frisk said quietly. It took Sans off guard. She sounded… really disappointed.

"Oh? I…I don't really dance, anyway." Sans tried to take the uncomfortable feeling out of his voice.

"That's too bad… I was hoping… to dance with you…" Frisk's cheeks burned. It was the closest she was going to get to confessing. At least for the time being.

Sans coughed, losing complete focus on the game. She wanted… to dance with him…? She had really just admitted that? He swallowed. He didn't even know how to dance. Papyrus could probably teach him. But then he'd had to explain WHY he wanted to know how to dance… And was it SO terrible that Papyrus know his "little secret"? He didn't think Papyrus had any feelings for Frisk…

"…ns… SANS!" Frisk yelled into her microphone.

Sans yelped and looked back to the screen. A bright red "Defeat" appeared on screen.

"Heh. Sorry, princess." He could almost feel her squint through the headset. "I was lost in thought."

"About?" Frisk huffed. She was upset. She always was when they lost, but this time it was his fault. At least it hadn't been a competitive match. She would've come all the way to Snowdin to strangle him.

"About what I'm going to wear to the dance. I can't disappoint the princess, can I?" He laughed off his flirting, glad that Frisk couldn't see his face. He pulled his hood up anyway, trying to hide in it.

There was silence, then a laugh.

"Stop calling me princess." She sighed into the mic. "I should get off. I'm still not feeling that great."

Sans frowned.

"It's still the same dream? Nothing new?" He asked.

"Yeah… Well, today I went back to sleep after waking up, on accident. This time I saw a girl. She was dancing. I couldn't really make much out, but she had her face painted. There are these things in the human world… called sugar skulls. Her face was painted like that." Frisk sighed again. She wasn't going to tell him about the sunflower part. She knew she was probably just projecting her favorite flower onto some random girl in a dream.

"Hm…" Sans thought for a moment. "And you haven't been wearing your necklace, right?"

"No… Do you think it's some kind of magic?"

"I'm not sure. I've never really heard of magic manifesting into dreams, but human magic is different than monster magic. Just let me know if anything else changes." He scowled at the screen.

"Okay, I will. Good night, Sans."

"Good night, Frisk."

She laughed, probably because he didn't call her princess. Then she logged off and he took his headphones off.

It really was strange, Frisk having the same dream over and over again, every single night. He was trying to help her monitor it, but it seemed to be the same. Now there was just an addition. A small one, but it must be significant to intrude on a scene that had been the same for so many nights. He sighed and pushed away from his desk. There was still some ketchup in the fridge, and he could use a drink now.

It wasn't that late, but it was getting close to Papyrus's bedtime. He needed to make his drink quick so that he could make it in time to read to his brother before bed. He found said brother on the couch, watching something or other on TV.

"THERE IS NEVER ANYTHING GOOD ON TV! ALPHYS NEEDS TO HURRY WITH THAT IDOL ROBOT OF HERS. I'M SURE IT'LL MAKE GOOD SHOWS." Papyrus complained, crossing his arms.

"Hey, bro." Sans said, moving past him and into their small kitchen. He quickly got a bottle out and went back to sit next to him on the couch.

"HELLO, BROTHER! DID YOU HAVE A GOOD TIME PLAYING YOUR GAMES WITH FRISK?" He asked, beginning to smash the buttons on the remote until he reached a news channel. It was better than whatever else was on.

"Heh, yeah. How did you know I was playing with her?" He took a sip, the ketchup hitting him like a wave of relief.

"YOUR HOOD IS UP AND YOUR CHEEKS ARE BLUE."

Sans paused.

"W-what?"

"YOU CAN'T FOOL ME, SANS. I KNOW THE LOOK YOU HAVE AFTER SPENDING TIME WITH HER." Papyrus laughed. "YOU'RE VERY EASY TO READ."

"Heh. I guess I am." He pulled his hood up even further.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED HER TO THE DANCE. YOU MISSED OUT."

"So… you know I have a crush…" It was so embarrassing he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"ON FRISK? OF COURSE, I KNOW. YOU GET UP EARLY IN THE MORNING JUST TO COME TO OUR TRAINING SESSIONS. YOU PICKED YOUR SOCK UP AFTER SHE MADE FUN OF YOU FOR LEAVING DIRTY SOCKS AROUND, AND YOU LEFT ME ALONE FOR ONE NIGHT JUST TO SPEND IT WITH HER. THE GREAT PAPYRUS COULD SEE IT FROM 20 MILES AWAY!" His brother laughed while Sans steamed in his hood.

"I didn't…" Who knew his brother could make him feel so embarrassed?

"DIDN'T REALIZE? I'M NOT SURPRISED. YOU DO TEND TO BE LAZY, EVEN ABOUT HIDING YOUR FEELINGS." Papyrus shook his head.

"Uh… So, the dance… I want… I want to dance with Frisk…" He pulled the strings of his hoodie tight, covering most of his face.

"I'LL TEACH YOU! LEAVE IT TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS! …YOU ALSO NEED SOMETHING TO WEAR. WE'LL HAVE TO GO SHOPPING, SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE."

Sans deserved that.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the long wait everyone! This semester looks like it's going to be terribly busy, so updates will be slower. But next chapter, we're going dancing!


	9. Chapter 9

"Th-Thank you for i-inviting me to get ready with you, F-Frisk." The small reptilian monster said, admiring herself in the mirror.

Alphys was admiring herself in the mirror, moving so that she could see herself at different angles. She was wearing her only dress: a black number speckled with white polka dots. Imelda had jumped at the chance to decorate someone else and gave Alphys a makeover. The monster was positively radiant with her newfound confidence. Frisk just had to beam with her.

"It's no problem. It's more fun to get ready together." Frisk was standing at still as possible as the seamstress was making last minute adjustments to her dress.

"There… You're done." The monster stepped back, admiring her own work. Frisk smiled and looked down at herself.

"It looks wonderful." She said breathlessly. The dress resembled a monarch butterfly, her train reminiscent of wings. She was supposed to be the butterfly that pollinated the sunflowers, or so the seamstress said. Imelda had done her hair in an intricate updo, twisted onto the nape of her neck. Surrounding the knot were some of the smallest sunflowers from Asgore's garden.

She felt that the Dreemurrs were spending too much energy on her for this dance, but she supposed it couldn't be helped. This was the first time she was going to be presented to the kingdom's citizens. Her soul was uneasy, and her heart was pounding. Would she make a good impression? Chara's words about monsters echoed in her head. Did they even want her here? She instinctively reached for her pendant but only touched her bare skin.

"D-Don't be n-nervous Frisk… Th-that's m-my job…" Alphys joked. The human smiled at her.

"Thanks, Alphys."

There was a knock at the door.

"May I come in?" Called Toriel.

"You may!" Frisk called back, moving to the door but the queen opened it before she got there.

Toriel smiled brightly at her.

"You look beautiful!" She picked up the girl and gave her a strong hug before setting her down again. The seamstress clucked and moved back to straightening Frisk's gown. "You look great as well Alphys."

"Th-thank you T-Toriel…" Alphys blushed.

Toriel looked back to Frisk.

"I know you're nervous, Frisk. That's why Asgore and I-"

"You've done so much already!" Frisk hurried. "You don't need to do anything else."

Toriel shook her head.

"No, we want to do this. You're a member of our family now, Frisk." Toriel smiled at her and Frisk's eyes widened. "Or rather, you might as well be. That's why we got you this." She produced a small box, the kind that held jewelry. Frisk blinked before taking the box and opening it.

Inside was another pendant, one to replace the emerald one. This one was made of amethyst with the Delta Rune symbol etched onto its face and held onto a thin, silver chain. She stared at it for a moment, her mouth slightly open. Then she felt tear pricks at the corners of her eyes.

"No! No!" Imelda cried, quickly flying to her side to dab at her eyes with tissues, trying to preserve the makeup she had so diligently applied.

"Th-thank you… Toriel…" Frisk sniffed and smiled before leaning in to hug the queen one more time. Toriel gently patted her head, making sure not to muss her hair.

"Your welcome, my child." Toriel whispered.

* * *

Sans stood at the back of the crowd. It was almost time for the royal family to appear. Papyrus had been whisked away so that he could walk in with Frisk. He felt an uneasy knot in the pit of his nonexistent stomach. Even though he was dressed in a nice shirt, a jacket, and slacks, he was still worried he wasn't quite up to being by Frisk's side. Seeing all the monsters eager to meet her made him self-conscious. He was nothing compared to her, and these monsters would see it. Even if he had mustered up the courage to make the decision to confess to her tonight, he wasn't sure he would be able to with everyone watching. Maybe if he could get away from the crowd…

The trumpets sounded. It was time.

"Presenting the royal family!" An announcer yelled as Toriel and Asgore, arm in arm, descended the steps of the castle. Then came Asriel and Chara, both dressed in their royal uniforms.

"Now presenting, Miss Frisk Résolu and her escort this evening, Sir Papyrus!"

As soon as they emerged from the doorway, Sans' heart stopped. She looked… beautiful. Attached to her side was Papyrus. He had to hold her arm to escort her, since she couldn't quite reach his arm. They looked smart together; Papyrus in his tuxedo and Frisk in her elegant, flowing gown. The crowd didn't make a sound. It was as if they were just as captivated by the scene as he was.

He jerked as an elbow jabbed itself into his ribs.

"She looks really good tonight, huh?" Undyne whispered.

"Y-yeah…" Sans mumbled, not taking his eyes off the human girl that had wormed her way into his heart. Undyne laughed quietly.

"I guess you're not denying it anymore, are you?" The captain of the guard asked.

"Everyone knows…" Sans shook his head.

"Except her." Undyne shrugged.

"Except her…" The skeleton conceded. Not for much longer, though, he promised himself.

"Thank you all for coming! Let us celebrate the end of summer!" Asgore cheered and signaled for the band to begin playing. They started with a cheerful, fast paced number.

Sans watched Frisk drag Papyrus into the ring of monsters for the first dance. They were good dancing partners, he had to admit. They twirled intricately around each other, and even though his brother was tall and lanky, he was still graceful. Sans just hoped he didn't step on her feet. He started to make his way to them as the song came to an end, but he stopped when Chara passed by him, looking back and giving him a smirk.

"I believe it's time for my dance, my lady." Chara took her hand and kissed it gently. Frisk laughed. She actually laughed! He was stunned. When had they become so close?

Frisk turned her head slightly, catching his eye. She grinned at him and mouthed 'soon' before Chara spun her onto the dance floor. He gulped. He wasn't so sure he was ready for 'soon'.

He needn't have worried. Soon wasn't really soon enough. After Chara had claimed his dance came Asriel, then Asgore, and then a slew of other 'important figures in the community.' He slumped against a tree. When he finally got tired of watching other monsters take his dance, he scanned the crowd. Papyrus was surprisingly dancing with another monster, looking like he was enjoying himself. Then he spotted Alphys and Undyne, swaying together as if there was no one else around. His soul panged with longing.

"Spying on them, fuckface?"

Sans jumped. Frisk was standing next to him, grinning.

"It's not spying if it's in full view of everyone else." He countered.

"They're cute together, so I know why you were spying." Frisk teased as she slipped out of her heels, tossing them behind the tree. Now she was back to being only a few inches taller than him.

"I wasn't spying-" He was cut off by Frisk grabbing his hand and pulling him into the fray of dancers.

"Come on! You promised me a dance!" She laughed. His heart pounded as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. His mind suddenly went blank at what to do.

"Hey, Sans, put your arms on my waist." She commanded, taking one hand from his neck and guiding one of his hands to her waist. This propelled him into action, and he moved his other hand to her waist.

They began to move with each other, eyes locked. Sans couldn't even hear the music. He was savoring being so close to Frisk, to be connected to her through their touches. They didn't speak, instead settling on focusing on each other. He wanted to lean in, press his mouth to hers. He could feel himself starting to, his eyes moving from hers to her lips, which parted slightly when she realized what he was doing. But she made no move to stop him; in fact, she started to move into him, her eyes becoming half-lidded. He closed his own eyes, soul beating erratically in his ribcage.

Their mouths met.

Her lips were soft, slightly sticky with lip gloss. Her kiss was warm and gentle, their bodies coming closer together the longer the kiss lasted. He could feel her heart beating just as quickly as his soul was.

It was weird to kiss teeth. And while Frisk couldn't feel the movement she expected from lips during a kiss, she could feel him pressing into her. His arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her closer and she let him. There was nothing more that she wanted in this moment than to be here, with him, like this. She would need to pull away soon for a breath, but she didn't want to. If only she were a skeleton as well.

Suddenly, she had a flash.

She was back in her dream, dressed as a raven. Only… it was a different scene. It was still at the dance, put she was holding someone in her arms. The girl with her face painted as sunflowers.

No, she wasn't a girl. Not in the normal sense.

She was a skeleton. A skeleton, whose face was painted with sunflower patterns, like a sugar skull.

Her eyes opened as Sans began to pull away.

"You're gonna need to breathe, princess." Sans joked. She blinked away her vision.

"Sans." She said. He looked nervous.

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me again." She grinned at him.

"Heh. Anything for the princess." He leaned in and paused. "For _my_ princess."

Before they could meet again, the sound of a wall being forced open from the inside sounded. They jerked away from each other. The entire crowd was crying out in confusion, looking desperately for the source of the blast. Sans' arms squeezed her tight, almost uncomfortably, until his eyes landed on the source.

"The lab!" He shouted. "Somethings going on." He looked to the girl he was cradling in his arms. "I have to go."

"Sans, don't! It's dangerous!" Frisk cried.

"SANS! IT'S THE LAB!" Papyrus yelled, making his way to the two of them.

"Take care of Frisk!" Sans instructed. Before Frisk could protest, his brother had scooped her into his arms, holding her close to his chest.

"I HAVE HER! GO, BROTHER!"

Sans smiled at him.

"Thanks, bro." He caught Frisk's eyes once more before he blinked out of sight.

"Frisk! Papyrus!" Toriel cried as she and Asgore pushed through the crowd to them. "We have to get you safe! Papyrus, we need you to help the other monsters!"

Papyrus blinked before jumping into action.

"OF COURSE, MY QUEEN!" He passed the human to Asgore, who thankfully set her down. Papyrus saluted them before moving to direct the dancers to a safe place.

"Let's go, Frisk. We have to make sure you're safe." Asgore gripped Frisk's hand in his paw.

"I want to help too!" She cried.

"You can help by being safe!" Toriel yelled over the noise. Another explosion sounded.

"Sans!" Frisk yelled, breaking free from Asgore and running towards the lab's building.

"Frisk!" Toriel took after her but was stopped by Asgore.

"No, Toriel! I'll go!" Asgore moved again but was quickly outpaced by another family member.

"I got it, dad." Chara smiled at him. "Go help the others."

"Be safe, Chara!" The king called to his son.

Chara bounded through the crowd, leaping over debris.

"Frisk! Frisk, stop!" He called, put the girl wasn't hearing him. He growled, picking up his pace. His niece was too fast. Maybe he should take up working out.

Frisk wasn't stopped; she wasn't even looking back. She just kept running. She had no idea what she was going to do or how she was going to help, but she didn't want Sans out there facing something on his own. And what could be so important in the lab that he needed to risk his life. It was empty, wasn't it?

"Frisk!" Chara finally was able to grab onto her dress, jerking her back.

"Let me go!" She tried to pull away from him.

"No! He's going to be fine!" Chara held onto her firmly.

"But-"

"No! He's a strong monster even if he doesn't show it! Now come on, it's not safe here!" He began pulling her. She was starting to believe him, and her resistance slacked. A crack sounded above them. His bright eyes shot up to see a broken chunk of the building shifting from its place, tumbling down towards them.

"Frisk!" He yelled, pushing her out of the way just as the debris landed on him.

Frisk screamed.

Then, the world stopped.

Everything was frozen in time, at a standstill. She looked around her, confused. Monsters were stopped mid-run or mid-scream. She looked back to where Chara had fallen. She could see blood that had started to pool underneath the stone. Her eyes welled.

"No! No!" She screamed, over and over again. She closed her eyes. Why had time stopped? Why was she the only one who could move? She screamed again, this time in frustration.

If only she wouldn't have run off! She wished she could go back, to set things right. She sobbed, hugging herself.

Blip.

She looked up.

In front of her was what appeared to be a large button from a video game, the word "Reset" scrawled across it.

"Reset?" She whispered.

She felt something turn in her, like a key that had just found its proper alignment twisting in place and sliding a lock into place. She looked around. What would pressing the button do? Could she reset this? Could she go back in time? Could she save Chara?

She made up her mind.

She was going to save Chara.

She reached forward, hitting the button with the palm of her hand. The world moved quickly, but everything was moving backwards, including her. The rock lifted off of Chara and he went from the crumpled mess he had become to a living human again. She turned and walked backwards until her dress was back in Chara's hand. She looked up. The rock was still about to fall, but this time she was ready. She nodded slightly, and the world resumed.

"Frisk!" Chara yelled. The crack sounded.

She whipped around and grabbed his forearms, yanking him with her as she jumped backwards. They both flew, Chara landing on top of her, and skidding to a stop a few feet away just as the rock landed.

Chara stared down at her, eyes wide and his mouth opening to ask what that had been about. She shook her head and he frowned but moved off of her and helped her up.

"Later." She promised. His frown deepened.

"HUMANS! THIS WAY!" Papyrus shouted at them. The area had almost been completely evacuated, and professionals were moving in on the laboratory to put the flames out.

Chara gripped her hand and they ran, moving around debris. She clung to him, shaking. She had just… _reset_ time. Chara was still here, alive. She was probably just imagining it, but she swore she could feel his heartbeat against her palm. As soon as they reached the younger skeleton brother, he hoisted each of them over one of his shoulders and ran with them.

"Are you okay?" Frisk yelled over the sounds of the wreckage.

"NEVER BETTER!" Papyrus assured her. She gently hugged his neck.

They finally reached the others in the garden. Papyrus set them down gently only for them to be surrounded by Toriel, Asgore, and Asriel.

"Thank the stars you're okay…" Toriel squeezed her son.

"Mom, it's okay… We were never really in any danger… Right, Frisk?" He asked, giving her a somewhat cryptic look. She knew he knew… something. Maybe not anything exactly, but he had a way.

"Right…" Frisk smiled and Asriel finally let her go.

"Frisk!"

"Frisk!"

Two monsters ran at them from the crowd.

"Undyne! Alphys!" She ran to meet them, giving them each a hug.

"A-Are you al-alright?" Alphys asked and she smiled and nodded. Then she frowned.

"Alphys… your dress…" She frowned at the dress that hung from her friend, torn beyond repair. Alphys laughed softly and shook her head.

"I-It's j-just a d-dress…"

"Where's Sans?" Undyne asked.

"He went to the lab… I… haven't seen him since." Frisk looked away sadly.

"If there's one thing I know about him, he's going to be fine. He always is." The guard assured her.

"SANS!" Papyrus yelled just as the monster blinked into sight. But he wasn't alone.

Frisk broke from her friends and rushed towards Sans but stopped just short of reaching him.

He was panting, soot all over him, his clothing burned in some places. Otherwise, he seemed fine. But what stopped her was what was in his arms. Or rather, who.

It was Gaster, but at the same time it wasn't. His body looked like it was melting, but somehow it was still able to keep a form. And he was _laughing._ He would stop to speak, but it wasn't any language Frisk could recognize.

Fellow lab students gathered around them, trying to make sense of it all. One finally took the scientist away from Sans, trying to lay him down gently on the grass.

"What… What happened?" Toriel asked.

"Determination." Sans couldn't take his eyes off of his mentor. "It was Determination."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

"What the hell happened?" Chara cornered her after he, Frisk, and Asriel had been herded into a small parlor near the queen's study. Frisk shrank away from him.

"Chara!" Asriel snapped, pulling on his brother's arm. "Don't say things like that."

Chara shrugged off Asriel's paw and took a step back, but his eyes were still ferocious. She could have sworn his red eyes were flickering like a smoldering fire.

"I-I don't know." She said truthfully.

"You knew that concrete was going to fall on me." He stated, crossing his arms. "Don't tell me you suddenly have the sight my sister did."

"Your sister?" Asriel asked softly, but he was ignored.

"I don't have the sight." Frisk said quickly. "More like a redo."

"Redo?" Chara's voice was losing its edge. He was still high on adrenaline. They all were.

"Yeah…" Frisk frowned and looked at the ground. "The concrete _did_ land on you. And you died."

Chara winced, like he had been pinched in his side.

"Then what?" He asked, his voice softer now that he realized Frisk may have saved him from dying.

"Then I cried. And screamed." Frisk was trying to make sure she noted everything she did. Anything could be important. "Then I wished really hard that it hadn't happened. That I hadn't run after Sans because then… then…" Her eyes welled up as she remembered the scene. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Then everything stopped. It was like someone had pushed a pause button. But I could move. I was fine. And then, a button appeared in front of me. It looks just like… Just like it was straight out of a video game. It even looked pixelated, Chara." She finally looked up at him. "It said, 'Reset.' I-I had no idea what was going to happen but… I pressed it. Then everything rewound."

She paused, her eyebrows creased. They hadn't even sat down. Her feet were aching, but there were more important things to worry about.

"What happened next?" Asriel asked, quietly, his eyes shining with a mix of curiosity and concern.

"Everything went back to the way it was a few minutes before. Chara was running after me. The boulder was just about to fall. I grabbed him and tugged him out of the way. Then…" She gestured in front of her. "The rest you know."

Chara was quiet before falling back on the couch.

"How did you know?" Frisk asked, taking a seat across from him. Asriel sat next to her. Chara shook his head.

"I… Don't know for certain. It's my magic. I can tell when something's off. I don't know exactly what is happening, but I know it's wrong. I could feel it then. And you looked so… wild." He sighed. "Thanks, I guess. For resetting everything."

"…" Frisk looked down at her hands. "What do you think it was?"

"Your magic." He said simply. "I think it just… formed in a way you would be able to use it."

"A big, video game button." She frowned, then broke out in laughter. Both of the boys looked at her, shocked.

"Wh-what's wrong, Frisk?" Asriel asked, gripping her shoulders.

"N-nothing, Asriel…" She shook her head. "It's just… I couldn't use my magic until it looked like a fucking video game."

Asriel laughed, and then Chara joined in.

"You really are a nerd." Chara chided.

"I need to tell Sans." She laughed, then stopped and frowned. "Do you think they'll be done with questioning him soon?" Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

The boys frowned and looked at the ground.

"It's… A pretty bad situation. I think it's going to take a while." Chara finally spoke.

"But… He just went into the lab and got Dr. Gaster out… He would just tell him what he knows, right?" Asriel asked.

"Not… really." Chara grimaced. "I think I know what happened. And it's not good."

Both of the creatures on the opposite side of him leaned forward.

"What happened?" Frisk asked, eyes wide.

"Well… Dr. Gaster was… extracting Determination from me and injecting it into other monsters." Chara wasn't looking at them.

"Chara!" Asriel shot up. "Why would you do that?!"

"Gaster told me Determination is the key to breaking the barrier. I wanted to help. So, he started extracting it when I was kid and injecting it into others, trying to make them powerful enough to break the barrier. It never worked… And the monsters… I don't know what happened to them, but I never saw them. Sans was helping Gaster." Chara avoided their eyes. "I guess something went wrong tonight." He looked up.

Frisk was frowning.

"Is that why your eyes changed color?" She asked. He blinked.

"Wha-"

"Your eyes in the picture are brown. Your eyes are red now." Frisk was trying to focus on anything other than Sans helping a mad scientist.

"I guess." Chara shrugged.

"What picture?" Asriel asked. "You two need to explain some things to me." He crossed his arms.

* * *

"So, you're related?" Asriel asked tentatively.

"Yes." Chara and Frisk answered at the same time.

"I see the resemblance…" Asriel laughed. "We should tell mom and dad…"

"We're going to." Frisk promised. "I don't really think now is the best time."

"You're right." Asriel nodded. "Why would your aunt send you here to marry her brother?"

"I don't really think that that's what she had in mind." She frowned. "I still don't know what she was thinking… But she kind of played everyone."

Asriel nodded again, deep in thought.

"I guess that makes you kind of like my sister…" He muttered, then smiled brightly. "I've always wanted a sister!" He quickly pulled her into a hug.

"I-I guess so…" Frisk couldn't help the blush spreading over her cheeks. She wasn't ready to admit it out loud, but she had also wished for siblings when she was younger.

"If he's your brother, that means you really _are_ a princess." Chara smirked as he watched her prickle up.

"Don't call me that!" She spat.

"The skeleton does it all the time." He chided, then immediately regretted it as he watched her wilt into herself. He sighed and went over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Sans is fine."

"I know… But I'd still like to talk to him." She stared at the door.

As if summoned, there was a knock.

"Children?"

It was Toriel's voice.

The queen didn't wait for an answer and entered, her husband behind her. When they were both inside, Asgore closed the door.

"Why don't we sit down?" He asked. The children followed his lead and sat together on one of the couches while the two royals sat on the one opposite of them.

"Is everyone alright?" Asriel asked, his face full of concern.

"Everyone is going to be fine. No one was seriously injured. Dr. Gaster has been transported to the town's hospital where they can take better care of him. We would like to talk to all of you about what happened." Toriel tried to smile, but Frisk could tell that it was faltering. Something wasn't right.

"We found that Dr. Gaster was injecting himself with the Determination he got from you, Chara." Asgore frowned at his son. "And we'll talk about that later, alone."

"Dr. Gaster had also injected the Determination into other monsters… Monsters on the verge of death. It helped them to extend their lives but… At a horrible cost. These monsters are not the same, but they're healthy. We are working on sending them home to their families." Toriel continued. "These experiments weren't authorized by us. Dr. Gaster was doing it behind our backs. I know that you know this, Chara." She shot him her famous scowl. He looked away meekly.

"It seems that Sans and Alphys were both working on the project with Dr. Gaster. We're investigating the project further, but until then, both are on leave from the laboratory." She finished.

"What does that mean?" Frisk asked quietly.

"They will not be able to come onto castle grounds, nor will they be able to talk to anyone who is close to the investigation…" Asgore frowned and looked away.

"That… that means you three." Toriel finished for him, her lips trembling as she watched Frisk.

"Oh." Frisk merely mumbled. She was numb. Everything she had been told was making her numb.

Toriel watched her, trying to watch for any signs of distress. She wanted to reach out to the small human girl and pull her into her arms. She wanted to comfort her, just like she would comfort one of her own children. The girl's entire stay with them had been filled with hardship. Just when she had thought that Frisk was finding peace, something like this had to happen.

But Frisk didn't fall apart. She stayed rooted to the sofa cushion, staring emptily at the coffee table sitting between them. She couldn't process everything. She would need time. She looked up. The royal family was staring at her, waiting for her to react. She smiled slightly.

"Is Sans still here? Can I talk to him before he goes home?" She asked. Toriel frowned sadly.

"I'm sorry, Frisk… He was already sent home." She answered. Frisk just nodded. A pressure was building in her stomach.

"I… I think I need to go to my room." She said as she stood, her hand going to her stomach.

"Okay, sweetie. Please call if you need anything." Toriel tried to smile at her. Frisk nodded, trying to summon a smile of her own. It didn't work.

"Thank you." She said softly and left the room.

She only got a few feet before she buckled over, vomiting on the tile.

* * *

It had been two weeks since she had last seen or talked to Sans.

She tried to remain her usual self, but everyone saw right through her perky attitude. They try to cheer her up. Asriel invited his friend, MK, over so they could play doubles tennis. He was even able to rope Chara into playing with them. Chara tried to cheer her up in his own way. He painted with her, even joining the Underlook theme. He painted a character he liked – Merciless – but it still didn't help her mood. Toriel taught her how to bake her famous butterscotch pie, and Asgore helped her plant a rare flower into the greenhouse. Nothing brightened her spirit.

She was having nightmares every single night.

It was her recurring dream, only… It ended in flames. She was torn from the skeleton girl with the sunflower paint. Night after night, she watched the monster's expression as she screamed, the sound a piercing, animalistic sound of fury and horror. And then, Frisk burned.

The person she was in the dream was stripped of his clothing down to his under clothes. He was tied to a stake and set aflame. She would scream, and scream, but nothing changed. She could only think about the sunflower girl. How she was leaving her alone. How she had made a promise. As her skin blistered and burned, she screamed a vow. A vow to come for her. To find her wherever she was. Death wasn't going to stop her.

She would jolt awake, covered in a cold sweat and panting like she had just ran a marathon. She would throw the covers off of herself, trying to get away from any source of heat. She was never able to go back to bed after that.

She and Undyne continued to train in the morning. It was less lively without Papyrus, who had taken off time from work to be with his brother while the investigation was ongoing. Undyne hadn't been able to speak to Alphys either. They commiserated, though Undyne did give her a hard time for kissing Sans in front of the entire party.

" _If you wanted to shock 'em, you did it perfectly." Undyne had joked, though there was a sadness behind her smile._

Frisk just wanted to be able to kiss the skeleton again.

She texted him, but of course he didn't text back. She sent him silly things about her day, selfies or other pictures she thought he might like. And always, she ended the message with "miss you." She texted Alphys and Papyrus as well, but they were silent as well. For them, she sent short messages of encouragement. She missed her friends terribly.

She had begun visiting Dr. Gaster at the hospital.

"Good morning!" She called as she entered the private hospital room that the doctor had been established in.

Gaster perked up from his bed, a smile on his face. He said something, but she couldn't quite understand. When she had first started visiting, she couldn't understand anything he said. She still couldn't, technically, but she was starting to get _meanings_ out of things. She wasn't sure what he said this morning, but she felt that he was greeting her.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" She asked, taking her usual seat next to the bed. She took off her sunhat, setting it on the table. It was a warm autumn day today, and Toriel forced her to wear the hat.

Gaster nodded and added a word. Yes, he had had breakfast.

"Was it good?" Frisk asked. The doctor frowned. "I can bring you something tomorrow. What do you want?" She prompted.

Gaster looked thoughtful and began to speak. Frisk leaned in, listening intently. When Gaster was done, he paused, and then began to repeat himself. They did this three more times. This was how he was teaching Frisk his own, special language.

"You want…" She furrowed her brow in thought. "Eggs… Bacon… And Toast…"

Gaster nodded and waited.

"And…" She was a bit nervous, but she felt like she had the new word he was trying to say. "Blackberry jam…?"

Gaster's face lit up and he began to laugh. It was his way of confirming that she was right. His laughter was infectious, and she began to laugh along with him.

Frisk had started to visit Gaster with the hopes that she would run into Sans. It was a selfish reason to begin visiting someone who had no one and who had been forever warped by his own experimentation. She had come to enjoy the visits, though. No one else ever came to visit him while she was there, and from what she understood, no one came to visit the other times.

The brilliant scientist had been deformed. He no longer had a real body. For lack of a better word, it was a blob. He had no feet, yet he could walk. The only stable parts of him were his head and his hands… Hands which no longer had to be attached to his body. And there were many hands.

"I brought you something." Frisk smiled happily and reached into her bag, pulling out a small dry erase board and a few markers. "I thought this might help with the boredom." She slid them over to the doctor.

He made a gleeful sound and quickly began to write on the board. Frisk couldn't make sense of it, but it looked like a long equation of some sort. She had speculated that a lot of him was still intact, like his smarts, but this added evidence to that theory. If the equation was actually something, then the scientist was still really in there. And she believed that he was. She continued to watch until he spoke again.

 _Talk to me._

"Oh, um…" Frisk thought. She wasn't sure what to say. She supposed it didn't matter. "I was hoping to run into Sans one day while visiting you."

 _I thought you were up to something._

She blushed and laughed.

"You're really smart…" She sighed. "Can I tell you about him and me?"

 _Yes._

"It's weird. I met him when I lived with the humans. I didn't know he was a monster. We were playing an online game and he got really mad, so I called him 'fuck face' and we became friends."

Gaster let out a happy laugh at that.

"I was always supposed to marry Chara, so I didn't really pay much attention to him _that_ way… But when I came here and met Sans… He was so nice to me. Then, I didn't have to marry Chara, and I figured out my online friend was Sans. Everything just kind of fell into place. I started liking him as more than a friend. Then…" She blushed. "At the party, we finally kissed. I haven't spoken to him since."

Gaster frowned. He seemed to understand that he was at least partly responsible for what had happened.

 _Sorry._

She smiled sadly.

"You were just trying to free everyone, weren't you?" Frisk looked up to find him watching her. "The queen and king will see that. I just miss him."

Gaster nodded and turned back to his math.

"Can I tell you something else? I've only told Sans, but I think you might be able to help me." Frisk looked down at her hands again.

 _Yes._

"I've been having really strange dreams. For weeks now! It's always me, but as a man, and I'm at a dance, and a skeleton girl with her face painted in sunflowers dances with me. I've had that dream every night since…" She frowned and shook her head. "I can't remember exactly when. But after the dance, I've been having another dream. It's still the same two people, but something terrible is happening." She could feel the tears welling in her eyes. "They're separated. Forcefully. And then I'm burned at the stake. I can barely sleep."

Gaster looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Finally, he spoke.

 _Human?_

"I'm human in the dream." She answered. He looked back to his math, thinking.

 _Story? Of us?_

Frisk had to think on the meaning of this for a moment.

"I read the children's book that Asriel leant me." She answered, remembering the story of the two lovers and the war they started. She put a few pieces together. "Wait… I started having the dreams after I read the story. But why am I having a dream about a story?"

 _Not a story. To you._

She frowned and shook her head. She didn't understand what he meant. He looked frustrated, then began to furiously wipe away his equation. When the board was clean, he drew. She watched, curious. It was a map. A map that led straight from the castle to a little house in a town called 'Snowdin.'

 _Sans._

He pointed to the little house. She frowned, still confused. He grumbled.

 _Go. To him._

She blinked.

"They won't let me." She stated dumbly.

 _Don't need them._

 _Need Sans._

She blushed. She liked the idea, but it just wasn't feasible. She didn't know her way around… She looked back to the map.

"Could I?" She asked, reaching out for the board.

Gaster cackled and nodded enthusiastically, placing the board in her hands. She studied it before taking out her phone and snapping a picture of the map. She gave the board back to Gaster.

"Are you sure I should?" She asked. He smiled and rocked back and forth.

 _Need Sans!_

"I won't be able to bring you breakfast tomorrow." She smiled sadly.

 _Need Sans!_

"Okay… Thank you, Dr. Gaster."

* * *

The rest of the day she spent getting ready for her journey. She wasn't sure how long it would take her to get to Snowdin, but the skeleton brothers came all the way every single day, so she didn't think it would take too long. There was a feeling in her gut that was telling her that this was a big moment in her life.

She sat down at her vanity mirror and stared herself in the eyes.

"I need Sans." She whispered to herself. She began to repeat it like a mantra, her pulse quickening with every utterance. She wanted to see him. She NEEDED to see him.

She moved to her drawers and pulled out a pair of scissors. She wasn't entirely sure what had possessed her to do it, but she grabbed a lock of her long her and cut neatly through it. She was breathing heavily, drunk on adrenaline, when she had finished her entire head. It wasn't a bad cut by any means. Some pieces were a bit longer than others, but on the whole, it was acceptable.

She grinned at herself. She had always wanted shoulder-length hair, and now she had it. She felt empowered. Tomorrow, she was going to leave, and she was going to find Sans.

She really did need him.

* * *

 **A/N:** I was very lost when I was beginning to write this. I thought I might have made the story too expansive. That there wasn't enough "action" between Frisk and Sans. I got a bit depressed about the story. It was a bit sad. But I enjoyed this chapter. I was always excited to get to the part where Gaster becomes goop. I feel a bit better now. :)


	11. Chapter 11

The morning started like most did for the little whimsum named Imelda. She woke up in her family's small house in the city, made herself presentable and then went to her beloved job at the castle. Even though she had to get up before most monsters even had a coherent thought, it was worth it. The pay was amazing, the benefits out of this world, and it almost didn't feel like work. Honestly, she felt like she was taking care of a dear friend rather than a charge.

She said her hellos as she entered the castle. Muffet was already at the oven, all arms moving rapidly. She waved hello and promised to come back once her and Frisk were done with the human's daily routines with Undyne… Though, they had fell flat over the past couple of weeks. Without Papyrus cheering everyone on, it was hard for anyone to get motivated. Even Imelda, avoided exercise at all costs, felt deflated.

She flitted up to Frisk's door and knocked.

"Miss Frisk?" She asked quietly through the door. She wanted to give the human girl some space but knew keeping a routine would benefit her in the end. She had been so sad since the night of the party. It was the sickness of a person separated from their one love. At least, that's what Imelda saw in Frisk's eyes when she spoke of the skeleton.

There was no response, as Imelda had predicted, so she knocked again.

"Miss Frisk, you really do need to get up." She called, a bit louder this time. She waited, hovering in front of the door. She really wished she could leave her be, but moping around all day, every day, wasn't going to help anything. The investigation would surely be over soon, and Imelda knew Frisk would be able to see Sans again. Surely, he had just been under the influence of Dr. Gaster and had to do what his superior said.

Still, no response.

"I'm coming in!" She called her final warning before twisting the knob and opening the door. It was still dark in the room, as the curtains were drawn. It was hard for the small creature to see, but she knew the route well by now and was able to avoid most of the hazards.

She reached the bed and gently shook the lump under the covers.

"Miss Frisk, you must get up. Undyne's waiting." She sang sweetly, giving Frisk another delicate shake. When the human didn't move, Imelda got worried.

"Frisk?!" She cried and ripped the covers off, only to find conveniently placed pillows.

"Frisk!" She squeaked again and quickly turned on the lights.

That's when she saw the cunningly placed mess.

The room was in disarray, clothes and objects flung into the far corners of the room, just out of Imelda's usual trajectory in the morning. Imelda was in nothing short of a panic as she moved around, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. A kidnapping?! A robbery?!

Before she could let herself get too worked up, she took a deep breath to calm herself. She needed to think clearly.

If it were a kidnapping, would the pillows have been so cleanly placed? Would the debris be placed so gingerly out of the way? No, it probably wouldn't have. A robbery was unlikely, seeing as how the princess was nowhere to be found, and she had already deducted this wasn't a kidnapping.

She moved around the room, trying to find any clues. Her first stop was the closet. She opened the doors and peered inside. It was in as much of a mess as the rest of the room, but Imelda was on good terms with the human's wardrobe. She glided in and took stock. Not much missing. Just a blue striped sweater, a pair of khaki shorts, and those hiking boots Imelda was sure never saw any real use. And then, a backpack was missing as well.

The whimsum sighed, a probable scenario coming together in her head. She didn't want to be right, and she definitely didn't want to be the one to tell the king and queen. She rung her hands together and made her way to the vanity.

Frisk had made the space her own in the short time she had been there. There were vials of makeup and pictures she had snapped of her friends and tucked into the spaces where the wood met the mirror. Imelda held her breath as she inspected the photos, eyes lingering on each one. She knew what she would see when she got to the end, but she didn't want her suspicions confirmed.

Finally, she couldn't hold off looking any longer.

The prime spot of the vanity was empty, where once it had been occupied by a picture of Frisk and Sans: Frisk with a polar bear hood on and Sans with silly paper ears taped to his skull.

Imelda sighed sadly.

What was she going to tell the family?

She turned to go, but the trashcan caught her eye. The final piece of evidence.

She peered in, holding a shriek at what she saw.

Beautiful locks of brown hair curled into the bottom of the bin.

Frisk had run away.

Imelda bounced in the air, trying to think of what to do. She knew she wouldn't be able to stall for time and let Frisk get a better head start. But Frisk was smart and would have left with plenty time to spare before her assistant would awake her. Yet, Imelda wanted to help in some capacity. So, she grabbed the trashcan and quickly flew into the bathroom. She stared at the toilet, contemplating her choices.

Flushing the hair had the potential to clog the thing, and Frisk had so much hair that if she tried to trickle it down it would waste too much time.

Her eyes landed on the sink. A perfect place for a small fire, but again, there was too much hair!

Frustrated, Imelda turned around and her eyes widened. The bathtub! It was about the size of a small pond. Frisk could practically submerge herself in it.

Imelda quickly dumped the locks of hair into the tub and went back to the room, finding a book of matches a bit too quickly for her liking, and went back to bathroom. She closed the door and turned on the fan. She wasn't able to open the small window in case the smoke got too thick and leaked out. She took a shaky breath and lit a match before dropping it into the tub.

 _God speed, princess._


End file.
